


The Little Black Cat Café

by xl_tt



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Cat Cafés, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, M/M, Murder, Murder Mystery, Not tagging some stuff because spoilers, POV First Person, Slow Burn, Smut, Stalking, Suga is a cinnamon roll, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, 黒猫の喫茶店
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 20:23:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 83,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7283395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xl_tt/pseuds/xl_tt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working at a cat themed café and leading a calm life filled with routine has its pros and cons — way more of the former, that should be mentioned. At the end of the day there is little to complain about, even if it gets old and not so exciting after a while. Luckily when a certain Tanaka and Sugawara move in nearby and the latter starts working at said café, things get interesting again. </p><p>But then one of the clients is found dead — <i>murdered</i> — at the back door and the <i>interesting</i> might have become too intense…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The usual

**Author's Note:**

> **Update 14/02/2018** A friend of mine that wishes to stay anonymous sent me a number of fan arts they drew for this story! I'm endlessly happy about it and it almost made me cry honestly. I embedded the pictures in a couple of chapters. For now there are six of them, but I've heard that there will possibly be more! (*T▽T*)

_It's not that life is boring._

_I do like my job. A lot. I like the co-workers. I like the place, I like my flat, I like the area. I like my friends, I like the books I read, I like the films I watch._

_No. Life isn't boring._

_It's as uneventful and as regular as any normal life can be._

_It's not that I mind._

_Well, maybe a little._

My mind was wandering around those thoughts while I folded laundry. It was a late Tuesday morning and that was the last bit of my morning routine — my flat was, if not shining, at least a little less dusty and a bit more manageable of a living space.

I looked at the clock. Quarter past eleven.

_Breakfast._

_Feed the cat, take a shower, dress up._

_Make sure the iron is turned off and that the keys are in the bag._

_Put on the shoes, say “later” to the cat, leave the flat, lock the door._

_Reach the stairs, turn around, check if the doors really were locked._

_Go out of the building, get tram 028, pass five stops, get out._

_Take three minutes walk, enter the café, say “hello” to Lev, take off the jacket, put on the apron, start the shift._

_Try not to lose mind over Lev's usual demeanour, keep watch on the cats and keep them from walking out to the street, make sure no one attempts kidnapping any and interview those who would possibly like to adopt one._

_Greet Yamaguchi, say “bye” to Lev, watch Yamaguchi in case he burns his fingers in the sink again._

_Work until seven, say “good evening” to Kuroo and Kenma, leave them to keeping eye on the cats for the night, warn them not to have sex in the kitchen — or anywhere in the cafeteria for that matter._

_Step outside with Yamaguchi, get to the bus stop, take bus 279, pass 3 stops, say “bye” to Yamaguchi, get out of the bus, go home._

_Feed the cat, take a shower, eat dinner, read another book while cuddling the cat, go to sleep._

_Rinse, repeat._

* * *

“Mhmm, I'm getting up, give me five minutes…” I mumbled, turning onto my back to avoid another poke to my face. My cat silently crawled onto my chest and mewed right into my nose. I scowled.

“Your breath stinks, Tsukki. All right, all right, I'm getting up.”

I pulled the cat off me and sat up.

Five fourteen in the morning.

My eyes slowly wandered from the clock to glare at the cat.

“You piece of dog crap, if I knew this is how you'd behave, I'd have never given you this name.”

Tsukki graciously ignored my comment and began licking his butt on my pillow. 

On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays my shift at the café was starting at eight and I pondered whether going back to sleep would make me feel better or worse when I had to wake up in less than an hour anyway. I ran my hand through my hair and slid my feet to the floor.

At this time of the year — in October — early mornings were dark. Yellow light from the street lamps was falling into my bedroom. It was an ugly shade of yellow. I yawned and turned my own bedside lamp on, at which Tsukki mewed and jumped off the bed to make a few steps towards the door (with his tail high in the air) and peer at me. I pinched my lips and stood up.

By the time I set the kettle on and poured some dry food into Tsukki's bowl, my arms were covered in goosebumps.

“Cold, cold, cold,” I muttered, dragging myself back to the bedroom to get my fluffy, ratty robe. The kettle began whistling.

“You are such a pain in the ass sometimes, you know?” I said to Tsukki when he was done with his food and skipped onto the windowsill to make himself shamelessly available for being showered with affection. I huffed into my mug of coffee and scratched behind his ear, watching people on the street.

There were seven early birds waiting at the bus stop that was right in front of my window across the street. One of them I recognised as my neighbour — the annoying guy that constantly complained about noise, but at the same time being the source of most obnoxious, constant racket in the whole building. There was also the tall woman I often met at the grocery shop down the street.

“Is that Masasumi?” I squinted. “Yes, that's him. I had no idea he lived nearby.” I shrugged. “The more you know…”

Some girl ran to the Annoying Neighbour and gave him an umbrella.

“Oho.” I scrunched up my nose. “I hope he's only supposed to give it to someone. Please, don't let it rain today…”

I finished my coffee and went to take a shower.

After I was done and left the bathroom, rain was pouring down in waves.

I sighed.

* * *

An edge of someone's umbrella ran over the side of my head, turning my hair into a mess. I groaned and didn't even attempt to fix it, focusing on delivering myself in one piece to the café instead. Sure, I had my own umbrella, a new one in fact — but the wind made the rain fall at such angle that my shoes and my trousers were all wet. Fortunately, working had taught me to take an additional pair in case the one I wore got dirty — or turned out to look like I had taken a swim.

“Morning!” I called from the door, folding my umbrella and setting it into the stand. I frowned. Lev's umbrella wasn't in it.

“Ah, hi!”

“Kuroo? Where's Haiba?”

Kuroo rolled his eyes. He was sitting on one of the sofas and stroking Sui's back. Sui was our biggest cat, some mix of Maine Coon and probably a smilodon or something just as unbelievable judging by his unusual gigantic size.

“Called in that he can't come. Said, I quote, the roof in his _goddamn bloody old burrow is leaking so fucking much that it could have not been there at all_.”

“So living in a charming vintage wooden house outside of the city isn't as fantastic as he expected, who knew?” I raised my eyebrow with a smile. “You sure he's going to be all right?”

“Yeah, I bet he's exaggerating.”

The little bell at the front door rang twice.

“Mornin'… I need a double coffee before I head to work. Lev's house flooded me.”

“Hi, Yaku. Oh.” I ran my eyes up and down Yaku's form. He looked worse than me. “Do you have some clothes to change?”

“Not really.”

“I'll give you mine,” Kuroo offered. “I keep a stash on the first floor.”

“You have more of your clothes there than in our flat.”

“Hi, Kenma.”

“Hi. Besides, he's gonna swim in yours, give him mine.”

Kuroo and Yaku left the room to climb upstairs. Kenma sat down next to Sui and yawned.

“Long night?” I smirked.

“Kuroo is a pain in the ass.”

“Don't you know you have to _prepare it_ before you—” I started, grinning at him, but Kenma didn't let me say anything more.

“Forget it.”

I giggled.

“I'll go change.” I turned on my heel and headed to the backroom.

I could've sworn I heard him when I was at the door.

“It wasn't _my_ ass anyway.”

I pressed my palm to my forehead and tried not to memorise that.

* * *

Lev arrived three hours later. His blouse was backwards, but beside that he seemed all fine and not much out of his default bubbly mood. Watching over the cats was always easier when he was around — either he had some secret magic powers, or he had a habit of rolling in catnip every morning — there was no fluffball that wouldn't follow him around and in most cases even doing what he asked. The amount of jokes Kuroo was making about it every day was equal only to how many times Kenma rolled his eyes at them.

“See ya later!” Kuroo waved at us and left. His umbrella instantly turned inside-out in the wind, but he tamed it somehow and trekked on.

“You're not going?” I asked Kenma.

“Into _that_?” He didn't as much as glance at me from his PSP. “No, thanks. I called in sick and he can manage without me.”

“I'm opening!” Lev called from the front.

“Go ahead!” I shouted back before I stared at Kenma again. “Are you two okay? You seem… I don't know. Different.”

Kenma sighed.

"It's nothing."

"Come on, Kenmaaaa…"

“You are going to drill it until I tell you, aren't you?”

I nodded.

“What a bother,” he muttered. He paused his game and put his PSP onto a motionless, sleeping Sui, then he rolled the sleeve of his oversized blouse — Kuroo's blouse, I noticed — and showed me his hand.

My mouth dropped.

“Oh my go—”

“Not a word about it to anyone.”

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my goooood…” I squealed through my hands. “ _Oh my goood_ …!”

Kenma glared at me. I heard footsteps behind me and he picked up his game.

“Not a word,” he hissed.

“Hello! Awful day, isn't it?”

“Masasumi? Hi! Take a seat!” I smiled. “Isn't your friend with you?”

“No, Ishi left his window open and his flat is practically swimming.” Masasumi shook his head. “But how are you? Is your place fine?”

“Oh— yeah, it's all right.” I waved my hand. “Same as always?”

“Yes, thank you!”

In the kitchen, Lev was struggling with our ginger Ponpon.

“She's got something tangled in her fur,” he drawled with a focused scowl. I closed my eyes for a moment.

“Lev. This is the _kitchen_.”

“Huh? Oh—”

“No. Cats. In. The. Kitchen.”

“Sorry, sorry—”

“You can't bring cats here, for hell's sake! They are going to close the place if—”

“Sorry, I'm going, I'm going…”

“Uuuuuuugh…” I rubbed my forehead. “He's like a big, dumb cat himself.”

Lev came back before I finished preparing Masasumi's usual order and showed me something wrapped in long, orange fur.

“No fur either!” I snarled. “Get the hell out!” I squinted. “Huh? So this was in Ponpon's hair?”

“I think it's a piece of a… um…” Lev's entire face and ears turned pink. “Of, uh…”

“Get it out and get out,” I growled, sprinkling whipped cream on the top of a huge mug of hot chocolate.

“Apieceofacondom!” Lev squeaked out. His skin darkened from pink to deep, deep red and it spread to his neck as well.

I frowned and leaned closer to the trash he was holding. I recognised it, too, and my face smoothed.

“I'm going to bloody kill them.” I glared at Lev. “And now get the hell out of the kitchen. The next time I see you bringing fur in here, on a cat or not, I'll shove this up your ass.” I waved the long, wooden spoon I used for stirring hot chocolate in the pot.

“By the way,” Lev said, throwing the tangled fur to the bin, “Yamaguchi invited some friends of his from high school to come over today.”

“It's a long way from his old town to here, isn't it?” I cocked my eyebrow. “What brought this on?”

“He said two of them are moving in close by and a some others are here to help with it.”

“Two of them? Are they a couple?”

“Dunno.”

I shrugged.

“If they are Yams' friends, I bet they are nice.” I grinned viciously. “On the other hand, _you_ are his friend, too, so who knows…”

“Wow, rude.”

“Get out.”

I gathered the mug of hot chocolate and a slice of cheesecake on a tray and made my way back to Masasumi's table. His eyes followed me with a bright smile and I couldn't help but to smile back. He was a rather cute guy, with his freckles and big eyes. Sui was sitting in his lap and purring loudly while Masasumi stroked his head.

Masasumi was the only person that Sui ever purred for.

“I swear this place still runs thanks to your visits,” I grinned, setting his order on the table. “We should create some level two regular client card for you or something.”

“I like it here,” he admitted, beaming. “Cats are nice, chocolate is good, and the personnel is…” he trailed off. His eyes opened wider and a light blush appeared on his cheeks. He waved his hand. “… nice, too!”

I laughed and winked at him before I went back to greet new clients.

 _Here comes our main source of income_ , I giggled inwardly.

“Two double hot chocolates with three extra portions of marshmallows, three cheesecakes, two mini apple pies, hmmmmmm… two chocolate cakes, and one large cherry pie slice, mmmmmm… two plum cakes,” he listed on his way to his favourite table. “Mmmmmmmmm… I'll have that new pistachio roll, too. One for a try.”

“No orange and nuts cookies?” I asked, noting it all down.

“Mmmmmm… Forgot. Add these, too.”

“You seem in a good mood today, Atsushi.”

“Eeeeeh? I'm not.” He raked his fingers through his damp purple hair.

I smiled and got a heavy-lidded, calm, bored stare in return. Despite the fact that I was standing and he was sitting, our eyes were on the same level.

_That's a basketball player for you._

“I'll be right back.”

“Mhhhhhmmmm…”

* * *

Yamaguchi joined us a quarter past noon, and he was almost completely dry. Lev and I watched as he took off his coat and put his apron on. Yamaguchi noticed it and grinned.

“Tsukki gave me a lift!”

I peeked through the door outside. Tsukishima's car was still there, lights off. Lev noticed that, too.

“How considerate of the ice-hearted Kei…!” I rasped dramatically. Lev took on an exaggerated, theatrical pose, touching his forehead with his wrist.

The door opened and the little bell rang.

“Ah, Tadashi, my love…!” Lev perfectly toned his voice to sound like Tsukishima.

The door closed, the bell rang again.

“Ooooh, Kei… my saviour!” I mocked a faint and Lev caught me to swing me low above the floor and brought our faces close enough for a kiss, like in a cliché romantic film.

“Tadashiiii…” Lev uttered, crossing his eyes ridiculously well. I burst out laughing and I was pulled up again while the real Tsukishima himself watched us with a blank face.

Yamaguchi covered his eyes with one hand.

“You are the worst, both of you…”

“Are you sure you two aren't related?” Tsukishima asked, drawing out every vowel. “This much of idiocy can't be a coincidence. You must have a grandmother monkey… or maybe a cockroach?”

Lev used his index fingers to pretend he has antennae.

“Cousin…” he whispered loudly, turning to me. “He knows… we must sacrifice him to our six-legged ancestors… preserve our secret…”

“For fuck's sake… you can't reason with morons.” Tsukishima sighed and walked away to sit with Kenma.

“I've heard there are some friends of yours coming today?” I said to Yamaguchi while we were preparing another order for Atsushi.

“Lev told you?” Yamaguchi smiled. “Yeah, Sugawara and Tanaka are going to share a flat nearby and Sawamura, Ennoshita, Asahi, and Nishinoya came with them to help with moving.”

I frowned.

“You talked about them before, you were in the volleyball team together, right?”

“Yeah. I'm happy to see them again.”

“And they have so much stuff that they need _four guys_ to help?” I chuckled, dropping marshmallows onto the whipped cream.

Yamaguchi shrugged.

“They are just sad to have them move so far away. They are all close friends, even so long after high school.”

I nodded.

“I get that. And those two, what are they like?”

“Hmm…” Yamaguchi began moving Atsushi's cakes and pies onto the tray. “Tanaka is… very… active? Lots of energy. He can be easily provoked and get angry very fast — at least that's what he was like back in high school. As for Sugawara, he's pretty much the opposite.” He smirked. “I haven't heard of anyone who didn't like Sugawara. He's that type of a guy. I haven't seen them in ages, though, so who knows how much they changed.”

“My old classmates are still mostly nearby,” I mused. “Though I keep in touch only with a few, namely _those_ idiots,” I gestured around the café. “And some of the folks from Fukurodani, too, if we are talking about high school friends—”

“Plum cake for Masasumi!” Lev's head appeared in the door. “He's sticking around pretty long today, huh?”

“I bet he wants to finally ask you out.” Yamaguchi snickered.

“ _Ask me out_?” I repeated. I rolled around the idea in my head. “Not my type. Cute, but no. Wait…” I raised my eyebrows. “So you are saying he's been coming here so often because he's pining after me?”

“Nooo, he's totally in love with Lev…” Yamaguchi sighed.

“You are going to bring him the order,” I muttered. “I will feel awkward around him now.”

While I carried the tray for Atsushi, I could hear Yamaguchi exchanging some polite words with Masasumi — and I could've sworn he asked about me.

“Mmmmm… That will be it for today,” Atsushi mumbled, scanning the plates and cups. “Get me the bill, Cat-chin.”

“Sure thing!”

The door opened and the little bell rang. I glanced automatically at the newcomers and I felt like the time halted.

There was a whole group of them. The first that entered was a lanky guy with a shaved head and a ton of piercings. The second was way shorter and with hair gelled up to probably make up for what he lacked in height.

The third one made me forget about all the others.

He was shorter than the bald guy, but way taller than the other one, he had oddly dyed grey hair, and the prettiest eyes in the universe — prettier even than Lev's, who up until then used to occupy the top place (without his own knowledge, of course). I gulped.

“Welcome!” I called with a smile and a little bow. “Would you like me to put two tables for you together?”

“Good evening!”

It was _The Guy_. And his _Voice_.

_Oh shit. This is so bad._

“We can do it ourselves, if that's okay?” He smiled and my insides twisted themselves into a tight ball.

“A— ah, sure…” I uttered.

“You guys!”

“Yamaguchi, hi!”

I briefly glanced at Yamaguchi, who was approaching us faster than Lev chases a cat, I glanced at the group — there were six of them — and it clicked.

_They are Yamaguchi's friends._

_Two of them are going to live nearby._

_One of them is Tanaka and another is Sugawara._

_Let the grey haired guy be one of them._

_Oh god, please._

_I will quit teasing Tsukishima. Please._

I miraculously pulled myself together (it was a half-assed result, but I was more or less functional) and ran to get a few copies of the menu.

“This is my friend and co-worker,” Yamaguchi announced when I came back and gave the lists to the guys. My hands were shaking.

Everyone's eyes were on me. I smiled awkwardly, feeling my cheeks go red.

“Hi.”

“She's so cuuuute!” The short one exclaimed, elbowing the bald one. “She's so cute, Ryuu!”

Now my whole face was red.

“Stop this, you two.”

A muscular, short-haired guy gave them a scary look and they instantly toned down.

“Sorry for them.” The change in his expression was immediate when he smiled at me. “I promise they don't cause any trouble, they only make a terrible first impression.”

“And second and third, too.” The one that muttered this was black haired, slim, and he seemed absolutely exhausted and sleepy.

“Well…” Yamaguchi cleared his throat. “This is Tanaka.” He pointed at the bald one and I groaned internally. “And this is Sugawara.”

_Oh my god._

_Oh._

_My._

_God._

_OH MY GOD._

“Those two will be now living here.”

Both of them extended their hands and for a second I was confused. Then my heart hammered and my own hand darted forward to squeeze the one that belonged to Sugawara.

_BIG. Warm. Warm. Soft and warm. And big. Oh my god._

_Don't keep it too long._

My mind screamed when I let go to shake hands with Tanaka.

“I'll be happy to see you around!” I smiled. All I could see was the grin I got from Sugawara in reply. His whole face was brightened with it. My brain went into a temporary shut-down and when Sugawara said something brief to me, it didn't even make it through. I didn't dare to ask him to repeat it.

“This is Sawamura, he used to be our captain in high school, this is Ennoshita, he was our captain after Sawamura graduated, this is Nishinoya, and Asahi.”

I exchanged more handshakes and excused myself. As much as I'd love to stay and stare at the angel named Sugawara, I was still at work.

I went back to kitchen and began washing the dishes, digging my absent gaze into the tiles before me.

“… hey, can you hear me?”

“Huh?”

I turned my head to look at Yamaguchi. He gazed at me gently.

“Would you mind if they stayed a bit after we close?”

“That's all right,” I mumbled.

“You can sit with us, too.” His smile widened to a grin.

“Um…” I gulped. “I think I'd feel too awkward. There's six of them, and they all know each other and I don't, I'd be just an outsider there, so…”

“Right, sorry.” He scratched his neck. “But maybe the next time? I mean, when Sugawara and Tanaka are here. Or any of them. They are really nice!”

“Yeah, I'll think about it. Thanks.” I smiled, too.

“I leave earlier today!” Lev stepped into the kitchen, rubbing his face. “I'm dead tired, and Mrs. Yamamura has been keeping an eye on my roof the whole day, I have to give her a break.”

“Sure.” I shrugged, going back to washing the dishes. “Sugawara and I will close up, go home.”

“Huh?” Lev frowned.

Yamaguchi chuckled.

“Huh?” I raised my eyebrows, staring at them questioningly.

“Nothing, nothing.” He exchanged looks with Lev and they both giggled. “By the way, Atsushi called for you.”

“Mhm, okay…” I answered absently.

“I'll do the dishes.”

“Mhm, fine…”

“The cats are doing the do on the table.”

“Mhm… good…”

Lev bent forward and burst out laughing.

“What…?” my eyes shifted to glare at him.

Yamaguchi shook his head.

“Go to Atsushi, he wanted something from you. I'll finish the dishes.”

I wiped my hands and strode to Atsushi's table, stealing a peek at the six guys, um, _one guy_ , on my way there. I chose the exact moment when Sugawara glanced at me, probably responding to catching a move out of the corner of his eye. He smiled and my brain froze all over.

I tripped over Sui.

I fell onto the floor with a ridiculous yelp. The guys at the table jumped to their feet, but before any of them made any further move, I was grabbed under my arms and lifted up.

“Eeeeeh, you are clumsy, Cat-chin.”

“Sorry…” I giggled awkwardly, making it my special mission not to look at _that table_ and commit seppuku out of shame and dishonour later. I fixed my apron. “So, did you want something?”

“Mmmmmm? Just that the pistachio cake should stay as regular,” he said slowly. “I told Yama-chin already.”

“All right, noted. What about the plum cake?” I decided to for now ignore the fact that Yamaguchi most likely made me come here only so I would stare at Sugawara and confirm his suspicion.

“Hhhmmmmmmmm…” Atsushi closed his eyes. “You should add cinnamon.”

“You should come to work here after you are done with studying,” I pointed out.

“Eeeh, but your cakes are good enough, Cat-chin…”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

Atsushi stood up and pulled on his jacket, big enough for me to be a long coat.

“I'm going.”

“See you later, Atsushi.” I smiled and got the same blank stare in return.

“See ya…”

Yamaguchi passed me, balancing two trays in his hands.

“Could you bring the rest? I need to grow a couple of additional arms some day…” He chuckled, making his way towards the table occupied by his friends.

There was just one more tray in the kitchen and I wondered why would Yamaguchi even need me for this little bother — especially that there was only one huge cup of coffee on it, and a piece of my latest plum cake. There was easily still place for those on the trays he was carrying.

Not thinking anything more about it, I picked it up to carry it to the table. The coffee was black as tar and the prospect of seeing someone gulp down such a gigantic dose of caffeine that probably could kill a horse made me cringe.

Yamaguchi's friends were in a middle of reminiscing some hilarious story, judging by how much they laughed and how one of them — the sleepy looking guy — was blushing furiously and mumbling that he “was sure everyone had forgotten about it”.

“Black coffee and plum cake?” Luckily, my perfected work attitude kicked in and I was able to speak bright and composed.

“Oh, that's for me.”

Sugawara.

_Yamaguchi, you piece of shit._

“Here you go!” I placed the coffee and cake before him with a smile. He smiled right back at me and this time my face betrayed me, it goddamn _had to_ cover in pink. I averted my gaze, bowed a little, and made a beeline back to the kitchen.

I closed the door behind me and leaned my back on it, led my eyelids fall shut and I slid down to sit on the floor.

“Are you all right?”

“Yamaguchi… run.”

“Pay up, Tadashi.”

I opened my eyes.

“Tsukishima, what the hell?” I straightened my back to glare at him from where I sat. “You made a bet?”

“We bet all the time.” He shrugged, munching on a bite of cake — plum cake, again — and staring, unmoved, right back at me.

“By the way… I forgot to mention something.” Yamaguchi seemed way too pleased with himself despite being guilty of clearly _deliberately_ having left out something. “Sugawara will be working with us, at least for now.”

I stood up and dared to crack the door and take a peek at him. He was chuckling at something the small guy said; his face was all beaming with that smile, his eyes were almost closed and his full lips were… oh good god.

I half-turned and gazed over my shoulder at Yamaguchi, then at Tsukishima. They were both observing me curiously (Tsukishima, of course, did not show the curiosity, but I knew better). I closed the door and sighed.

“Well… this sure will be interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I don't really know how Murasakibara from KnB ended up here. Initially I just wanted to mention him in one sentence, since I have a soft spot for him. I don't think he'll appear again, but who knows. [Edit 6 chapters later: AHAHAHA DID I SERIOUSLY FUCKING SAY THAT]  
> *The Reader thinks Suga's hair is dyed for obvious reasons. She's yet to discover that it's not the case.  
> *I'm a sucker for a punk!Tanaka, yes.  
> *Masasumi's name came from Masasumi Kakizaki, author of "Green Blood", which I'm reading at the moment (and recommend!). I was looking for a name and that was the first one my eyes stopped at.
> 
> Please let me know what you think! I really really really love knowing your opinions.


	2. Cold and warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting soaked in rain does not end up well, but luckily Kenma and Lev are there to help out with their gross family recipes… if one needs to go to a certain small party, there is no other way than to bear with the absolutely disgusting medicine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's have fluff and a bit of a very happy KuroKen in the background.

It was bound to happen after how thoroughly I had soaked in the cold rain the previous day. Although I had to admit — getting overwhelmed, anxious, and so embarrassed that my head nearly blew a fuse last evening probably had something to do with it as well. Whatever the reason, I woke up at 6 o'clock sharp on Thursday morning and before I even opened my eyes, I already knew. One of my nostrils was stuffed and my throat burned.

I tried to sigh, but instead a raspy groan escaped my dry lips.

And to think I was looking forward to staring at Sugawara the whole day.

It wasn't raining any more — in fact, the clouds were almost gone and the rising sun could finally show up — but I could hear the wind whistle between the buildings and in the windowsill in my kitchen. It must have been the wind descending from the mountains, warm but strong enough to send hundreds of colourful leaves flying, to tear off hats and sometimes even break branches. Normally I would be thrilled to step outside and let it blow my hair and clothes around… unfortunately, in my current state, the prospect stood no chance.

I reset my alarm clock to 7:30 and groggily got up to visit the bathroom and pour some dry food into Tsukki's bowl. I took a sip of water to swallow a pill of aspirin, scowling at a sharp sting in my throat, and dragged myself back to bed.

Sure, I was sick, but crawling under the comfortably warm covers and burying myself until only my nose was sticking out from below the pillows still felt fantastic. Tsukki was evidently finished with his breakfast when I heard him mew before he jumped onto the duvet and curled into a ball next to my head.

That was how I drifted off, idly listening to my cat purring.

* * *

For a brief moment I was confused why my alarm clock sounded different than usual.

It wasn't the alarm clock.

It was my phone ringing.

Lev.

“Mmm? What is it?” I mumbled, pressing the phone to my ear with one hand and rubbing my eyes with the other.

“Eight forty.”

“Huh?”

“It's 8:40. Did something happen?”

“Eight— what?!” My eyes shot open and I sat up, accidentally throwing Tsukki off. Poor cat hissed in surprise and annoyance, and skipped to the floor to glare at me the same way I glared at my alarm clock. “Oh shit, bloody hell, I overslept it…”

“You overslept?” The disbelief in Lev's voice was as clear as the cloudless sky outside “Wait… are you sick? You sound like your nose is blocked.”

“Mm… yeah, I totally am. Must be that rain yesterday, I got soaked cold. I wanted to call in sick, but I slept through the alarm clock.”

“Eeh, so I'm going to be stuck with Sugawara here all on my own? I suck at teaching—”

Lev trailed off. I heard someone else talking to him, too muffled by the distance from the phone to discern the words.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Anyway,” he spoke to me again, “Kuroo says he's going to drop by with Kenma and with some stuff for you before he goes to work. Huh, what did you say?” Another break. “He said it works on Kenma, so I guess it will get you working soon.”

“Thanks, I'll be waiting.”

“All right, gotta go, looks like Bokuto has a break and came in with Akaashi.”

“Damn, I was looking forward to seeing them. Tell them hello from me.”

“Sure, get better. Bye.”

“Yeah, bye.”

I yawned and raised my arms to stretch. I decided not to bother myself with tidying up my room nor the kitchen and chose to only comb my hair, wash my face, and brush my teeth, more for my own comfort than to prepare myself for the visit. Kuroo and Kenma had seen me in various states of an unkempt disaster throughout the years we had known each other and I was perfectly comfortable with not looking well around them. It went both ways, though sometimes they showed sights I would rather forget.

Like Kuroo's back covered in hardcore acne in high school. And scratches. From Kenma. That included some scratched pimples.

I shuddered inwardly in terror at the thought and splashed water in my face.

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. My eyes were dull and surrounded with deep shadows, my nose was red, my bedhead was utterly ridiculous, and my tongue felt like it belonged to someone else and it tasted awful. But at least I didn't have a fever, I noted after I measured my temperature while brushing my teeth.

“Some breakfast would do,” I mused, struggling to bring my hair to a bearable state. “Or I could get Kenma to make me something.”

It was common knowledge (eagerly spread by a boasting Kuroo) that Kenma made the best breakfasts in the world, whatever was requested. That was, if you were skillful enough to get him to do it (Kuroo always tactfully omitted that part).

I set the kettle on and decided to treat myself to a half of a bar of chocolate from my emergency stash in the meantime. Tsukki jumped on the windowsill to lay in the sun the way he usually did — all spread out on his back, paws up. He used to splay himself in a long flower pot I had there a couple of weeks ago, which resulted in the poor flowers getting squished and dying.

My phone buzzed out a new text tune in the bedroom. Thinking it was Kuroo signalling that he and Kenma were almost at my doorstep, I glanced out of the window, scratching Tsukki's stomach while I was there.

The bus stop was filled with people, from school kids to old ladies going to the market. I recognised my closest neighbour, a stern woman in her 70's, who was glaring at our favourite Noisy Guy resident. She was nearly deaf, but it didn't stop her from knowing all the gossip by heart and despising of the man all the better. There was also Masasumi with his friend that I recalled from his seldom visits at the café, also a teenager I saw once making out with some girl in the basement, and the cleaning lady I remembered from high school.

The kettle whistled and I made tea in a big pot that I could keep hot with a small candle hidden inside a little stand that went with it. I left it at the kitchen table and shuffled to the bedroom.

The message wasn't from Kuroo, but from Yamaguchi. It said “Get better! :):)”, and there was an attachment with it. A photo. I frowned and opened it.

_You've got to be joking._

Three people were in the photo. Yamaguchi, who was obviously holding his phone to take the picture, then there was Lev hunching in the middle and holding a very discontent Sui in one long arm — and on the very right, there was Sugawara. All three were grinning and holding their thumbs up.

I stared.

Lev and Yamaguchi could've as much as not be in the photo at all.

Sugawara's smile was that familiar kind I remembered from the day before: chocolate eyes narrowed and glimmering, full lips arched and showing pretty teeth, and nose lightly scrunched up. Just a tiny tiny bit.

Then I noticed it.

He had a little mole right below his left eye. I missed it earlier in the initial haze of being hit by the first sight of his whole person, but now that I saw it, there was no chance of missing it ever again.

“This is too much for me,” I groaned. “This is impossible. Holy frick. Do people like that actually exist?”

I was so invested in gazing at the photo that my mind ignored the doorbell and I only snapped out of it when Kuroo's name and number appeared on my screen and my ringtone sang at me accusingly.

“What took you so long?” Kuroo growled, taking off his shoes.

“Hi.” Kenma slipped in behind Kuroo's back with a paper bag in his hands.

“Morning. Sorry, I dozed off.”

_Kind of._

“We gotta leave in a quarter, so make sure to get better in the next ten minutes.” Kuroo smirked. He took the bag from Kenma and headed to the kitchen. “Dozed off, huh? I wonder who made this tea, then.”

“You got the photo from Yamaguchi,” Kenma said, not even trying to make it sound like a question.

Kuroo snickered.

I sighed, rolling my eyes.

“Oh babe, you've got it so bad. By the way…” Kuroo's head poked out of the kitchen door. “We met Masasumi at the bus stop. I've always thought he lived next to Nekoma? That's far from here.”

He pulled out a jar from the bag and poured the contents into a small pot before putting it on the stove.

“I don't think so.” I shrugged, following Kenma into the kitchen as well. “I've seen him at this bus stop before, so I guess he lives around here. He probably just moved places or something.”

“Who cares?” Kenma muttered, plopping down on the chair and laying his head on the table.

I frowned, suddenly remembering something.

“Ah, actually…” I spoke up, sitting at the table as well. “Mind telling me why Lev found a piece of a condom in Ponpon's hair yesterday?”

Kuroo was just tasting whatever was in the pot and he choked on it. He slammed his fist on his chest a couple of times, coughing intensely. He looked at Kenma.

“So that's—” He coughed one more time. “That's where it went.” He grinned. “Sorry.”

“For fuck's sake!” I hid my face in my hands. “Do you realise what would it look like if one of the patrons found it? What kind of rumours that would spread? We'd lose clients at the very least, if they didn't close us up right away.” I groaned in annoyance. “I tolerated it as long as you were sticking to the night watch room. I don't care if you did this upstairs, you've got a total ban on fucking each other or doing anything on the subject in the whole building from now on. Not in my café.”

“Technically, it's Lev's café,” Kenma mumbled under his nose.

“I'm gonna blackmail you if you slip up,” I said, crossing my arms on my chest.

“Blackmail?” Kuroo snorted playfully. “I get it, we won't do it inside the café, but what could you have on us that you could use as blackmail?”

Kenma muttered something quietly.

“Huh?” Kuroo turned off the stove and poured some of what appeared to be meat soup into a bowl and then placed it in front of me. “What did you say?”

“She knows.” Kenma averted his gaze.

Kuroo rolled his eyes.

“Why are you always so nosy?” There was no irritation in his voice, though, and after a moment he grinned happily. “You should've seen his face!”

“You cried.” Kenma pinched his lips, pretending that there was no blush on his cheeks.

“Anyway, we are going to tell everyone tomorrow.” Kuroo gave me a lopsided smirk. “So you better make it to our flat on the following beautiful Friday evening.”

“I'll be there even if I have to drag myself along with the whole bed.”

“Yamaguchi and Lev would kill you.” Kenma turned his head to rest it on the side and stare at me. He was still a little pink.

“Eat up.” Kuroo poked my shoulder and sat on my other side. “Kenma made this, so it probably won't kill you.”

“I was starting to be afraid,” I said with a smirk. I took a sip. “The day I try anything cooked by you that isn't mackerel will be also the last day of my life. I'm sure of that.”

“Burn.” Kenma's finger tapped the table. Kuroo diplomatically ignored the whole thing.

“By the way…” Kuroo tilted his head side to side, making his vertebrae crack. “We invited Suga, too.”

“Suga… wait, Sugawara?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Yep. We somewhat know each other from high school matches and camps, obviously. Same for Tanaka.”

“You haven't seen them since high school, have you?”

“That's right.” Kuroo shrugged. “I don't see any problems with that. They are cool. Besides, what would it look like if we invited everyone from the café and left Suga out, especially that we know him?”

“That didn't stop you from inviting pretty much no one from work,” Kenma remarked quietly, tracing patterns on the tablecloth with the pad of his finger.

“My own fiancé is against me.” Kuroo sighed dramatically. Kenma blushed.

“Don't say this stuff,” he mumbled, averting his gaze. I hunched down to take in a spoonful of the soup.

“Oya? What was that?” Kuroo took the opportunity to lean over me and get closer to Kenma, placing his forearm on my shoulder blades. 

“It's embarra—”

I didn't even have to look to know that they were kissing.

“Your elbow is digging into my back, Kuroo,” I mumbled.

A particularly wet sound resonated in the kitchen and Kuroo pulled back.

“Sorry.”

“No biggie,” I answered while chewing a mouthful of boiled carrots. “Shouldn't you be going? It's getting late.”

“Kenma will stay here for the rest of the morning,” Kuroo said when he got up and walked to the front door. “Just to make sure you won't get a sudden wish to go outside and fuck yourself up even more.”

“That would be new,” Kenma muttered dryly. His face was hidden in his arms that were still resting on the table.

“Aww, so mean.”

“See you later!”

“Bye!”

The door closed.

Kenma kept his head on the table and when I was done with the soup, I began suspecting that he had fallen asleep. I stood up to leave the bowl in the sink.

“He was asking about you.”

“Huh?” I turned around, thanking in thought that human ears couldn't perk up in any other way than metaphorically.

“Sugawara.” Kenma didn't move an inch. My heart did that nasty single stronger beat. “I think Yamaguchi told him that you'd show him around.”

“Ah, right.” I somewhat felt a tiny bit disappointed. “Lev sucks at this stuff, and Yamaguchi comes in later, so I guess he did.”

“Kuroo invited him because of you.”

“I figured that.” I snorted. “But are you saying that it was only _his_ idea?” I sneaked closer, intending to startle him.

“Kuroo did all of the invitations. Ideas were… mutual.” He raised his head to lay his chin on the tabletop. “Were you really trying to scare me?”

“Like that would ever work.” I laughed, but ended up almost coughing up my lungs. “Coffee?”

Kenma shook his head.

“Tea. Yamaguchi asked him things,” Kenma added quietly. I picked up the teapot.

“Oh? What things?”

Kenma sighed and straightened his whole arm across the table and traced more patterns with the tip of his finger. I poured the earlier prepared tea for him and returned to the table, this time sitting across from him.

  
  


“Single, liked your cake, still plays volleyball, thinks you seem nice, and your name is pretty…” He frowned. “Or maybe it was the other way around.”

I grabbed the edge of the table and leaned far in to stare at Kenma with wide eyes from approximately ten inches apart.

“ _What did he say exactly?_ ”

Kenma closed his eyes and drew his brows together like he sensed a headache approaching.

* * *

_So his nickname is “Suga”._

_His first name is Kōshi._

_Maybe I should stop believing that he can't get sweeter than I already think, because I'm clearly proven wrong again and again._

I was chin deep under a stack of my duvet and blankets, with only one arm in a long-sleeve pyjama and fluffy robe sticking out so I could hold my phone and stare at the photo sent by Yamaguchi.

_He's one year older than me. Thanks for the information, Kenma._

I sneezed. Once. Twice. Thrice. I scowled and reached for another tissue, blew my nose, and threw the used tissue onto a quickly growing pile.

“What a bother…” I muttered. “This is so not going to pass before tomorrow's evening without a miracle. I hope Kenma wasn't lying about that syrup from his grandmother.”

The suspicious concoction that I was presented with looked gross and tasted even worse, and my first thought after swallowing a teaspoon of it was to immediately puke it back out, but I was told to wash it down with a mixture of tea and honey instead and somehow I survived. Barely. I decided I would have a damn serious conversation with Kenma if this medicine from hell didn't work… admittedly, I would ask whether his grandmother had anything else that could possibly help me out, at least temporarily. 

_Talk about being desperate._

My phone buzzed and I almost dropped it in surprise. I rolled my eyes and slid the photo aside to see who dared to disturb my peace.

[03:17 pm] Lev: His coffee is SCARY!!! ⚆ _ ⚆  
[03:17 pm] Lev: Have you seen it??? ⚆ _ ⚆  
[03:17 pm] Lev: It's so dark it sucks in all the light around it (((( ;°Д°))))

I raised my eyebrows. 

[03:17 pm] Lev: Is this what a cosmic black hole looks like????  
[03:17 pm] Lev: Is it going to consume me, too? (｢⊙Д⊙)｢  
[03:17 pm] Lev: I don't wanna die!!!!!  
[03:18 pm] me: Ask Tsukki, black holes might be his relatives (★ω★)  
[03:18 pm] Lev: !!! (*≧▽≦)

I returned to the photo and I noticed a lone Tsukishima in the background. Only a part of his face was visible over Yamaguchi's shoulder, but I could easily discern his expression… which was more than amusing.

I was about to text Lev and joke about it, but I got a new message from him before I started typing.

[03:21 pm] Lev: Oh my gosh??!!  
[03:21 pm] Lev: (゜。゜)  
[03:21 pm] Lev: THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE (怒ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ  
[03:21 pm] Lev: You are not gonna believe this! (ʘᗩʘ’)  
[03:21 pm] Lev: Holy poop!!! ( ꒪Д꒪)ノ  
[03:22 pm] me: What is it?  
[03:25 pm] me: Lev???  
[03:26 pm] me: Come on  
[03:27 pm] Lev: …….  
[03:27 pm] Lev: I had to record this!  
[03:27 pm] Lev: LOOK!!!!!

I received a short video. The thumbnail showed a close-up of Sui's head and I was convinced that he did something nasty again, like peeing on Yamaguchi's lap, or perhaps digging his claws into Lev's apron and hanging from it, but then I tapped to play it and all thought vanished from my brain.

Sui was purring: that was evident even with the crappy sound quality. Then the picture slowly zoomed out, displaying someone's lap covered with the café apron and a hand gently stroking Sui's back. The hand couldn't be Lev's since his fingers were way longer and bonier, and it was too pale and devoid of freckles to be Yamaguchi's either, so that left only one option.

A smiling face came into view and my suspicion was confirmed.

Sui, the cat that never made any sound for anyone except Masasumi, was all content and purring on Sugawara's lap. The video ended, being only a couple of seconds long, and I was stuck staring at the dimmed image of Sugawara with a wide, happy grin, looking down at the huge cat.

[03:29 pm] me: No fucking way.  
[03:29 pm] Lev: I TOLD YOU!!!  
[03:30 pm] Lev: This is a sign!!! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑  
[03:30 pm] me: Stop  
[03:30 pm] Lev: Sui knows his stuff!!!  
[03:30 pm] me: Stop…  
[03:31 pm] Lev: You can't deny fate and the wisdom of a cat! (◡‿◡✿)  
[03:31 pm] me: Too much cheese, Lev  
[03:31 pm] me: Tune it down  
[03:31 pm] Lev: Yamaguchi says I'm right! ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
[03:32 pm] me: Fuck you both  
[03:33 pm] Lev: We love you too! ♡♡♡  
[03:34 pm] me: I'm dying  
[03:35 pm] Lev: I'm going to drop by after work!  
[03:35 pm] Lev: Alisa gave me a recipe to get you better! ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧  
[03:36 pm] me: Thanks, I'll be waiting.  
[03:49 pm] me: Would you mind going to one shop for me?  
[03:49 pm] me: I gotta get some gift for those morons  
[03:50 pm] Lev: A GIFT???  
[03:50 pm] Lev: But it's just a party???  
[03:50 pm] Lev: Why do you want to buy a gift?????!!( •᷄ὤ•᷅)？  
[03:50 pm] me: Because I'm nice like that. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 

By the time Lev arrived at my flat, the rain was back, aided by the powerful wind. Lev himself came in drenched, tired, and slightly grumpy, but he jumped right back into his cheerful mood as soon as he slipped off his dripping duster and set the kettle on. I observed as he put his bag on the kitchen table and pulled out of it a jar of honey, garlic, clove, ginger, a big carton of milk, and a nicely gift-wrapped box.

“So they did have it?” I asked, pulling the box to me to examine, despite that I couldn't see inside. “I'll pay you back on Monday, thanks a lot.”

He glanced at me over his shoulder with a smile while he picked a small pot from the cupboard. He waved his hand dismissively.

“This is most likely not going to taste well,” he warned. “Alisa says it's not bad, and the auntie she got it from loves it, but…” He scrunched up his nose. “It sounds gross to me.”

“Nothing can taste worse than that thing from Kenma.” I shrugged. “I'm prepared for anything and everything. Just get me better. Just for tomorrow. I can lay sick an extra week, just give me a nice Friday.”

Lev giggled.

“I don't think it works like that.” He poured milk into the pot and turned the stove on. “By the way, Yamaguchi wanted to come over, too, and drag Suga with us, but I told him you'd rather die than show yourself looking like this.”

I rubbed my forehead and yawned.

“Thanks.” I tilted my head to the side. “Oooh? So you are on a nickname basis already?”

“First: we kinda know each other because of volleyball, right?” Lev rolled his eyes and picked up the garlic. “Second: you'll see that he's going to tell you to call him Suga right away. He's just that kind of person.”

He narrowed his eyes in that typical cat-like manner of his. 

“Also…” he mulled when he squeezed the garlic into the pot, “I'm fairly sure he's interested in you.”

“Huh?” My cheeks heated up and for once I was glad that in my current state it would be difficult to discern that blush from the one I already had because of the cold.

“It's clear!” Lev dropped some clove into the mixture and turned around to grin at me. “I know it!”

“Lev… you had not noticed Yaku hitting on you for _months_ , no matter how obvious he was making it…”

Lev crossed his arms on his chest.

“Oi now, that's an exaggeration.”

“Not really…”

“Then you could say that your case must be so easy to notice that even I picked at it, ha!”

_So this is what Tsukishima means when he says that there is no use fighting a moron._

Tsukki emerged from my bedroom and began rubbing his sides against Lev's calves, purring and demanding attention.

“Besides, he saw me for like, what? Ten minutes, yesterday? In total?”

“So what?” Lev automatically bent down to stroke Tsukki's back. “Whosh my pwetty shweet kitty, Tsukki? Whosh my weetle cute fluffball?”

Tsukki chirped — that funny noise that was entirely reserved for Lev and only Lev — and bucked his head into Lev's palm.

“It took me five minutes to be head over heels with Yaku.” Lev raised his head and stared at me with a serious expression.

“And then it took you three years to do something about it.” I sighed.

“Well, that was in high school, cut me some slack. We are big, mature, responsible adults now.”

For full ten seconds, the only sound in the kitchen was Tsukki's purring.

Then both Lev and I bent forward and burst out laughing, which in my case ended with a lung-ripping coughing fit.

* * *

Friday morning found me feeling a little better: fever was gone and my throat didn't burn almost at all, but my nose was emitting a never-ending snotfall and I realised I was literally praying for it to tone down by the evening. I precariously did not shower the whole yesterday and planned to do it before I would go out (considerably earlier, though, not to make things worse after stepping outdoors), hence I was all sweaty and icky, and forcing myself to ignore it for a good couple of hours was pure torture. Or perhaps _dirty_ would be a better word.

Whether was it Kenma's or Lev's medicine, it clearly worked, so while I was preparing another round of the latter, I gulped down a spoonful of the former, straining myself to not let it rise back up to my mouth. 

The rest of the day passed on napping, reading, cuddling the cat, eating, and texting Lev, who seemingly made it his life's new mission to talk about Sugawara every ten minutes. I sensed Yamaguchi's scheme behind it.

Eventually, five o'clock stepped in and I was almost buzzing with excitement and a good dose of nervousness. I spaced out for at least ten minutes in shower (and then panicked, convinced that I would be three hours late because of it) and afterwards managed to slip on my panties not only inside out, but also backwards. Thankfully, the remaining preparations went through without a hitch, and soon I was on my way to catch the bus number 208.

At the bus stop, I patted my pockets and browsed through my bag for the 10th time to make sure I did not forget anything.

I did forget _something_.

The gift.

I groaned with frustration and jogged across the street, rudely not bothering to take a couple of steps more to cross it in the designated spot nor to care about getting honked at.

By the time I was back at the bus stop, I was heaving and sure that I had just made my condition worse… and that my hairdo was a goner.

“Oh, hello!”

I turned my head.

“Masasumi? Hi.” I smiled and received a sweet grin in reply. “How are you?”

“Not bad, not bad. I'm heading to Ishi's.” Masasumi scratched his nose and chuckled. “Normally I wouldn't go outside in the rain if I don't have to, but…” he trailed off and shrugged, but then his face took on a worried tone. “That Kuroo guy told me you are sick, right? You shouldn't be leaving your flat in such state, especially with this weather.”

“They invited me to a party, and I can't skip this one.” I winked. Having in mind what Yamaguchi said about Masasumi the other day, I decided to give him a small hint to back off. “And there's someone I'd like to see there, too.”

“Oh…” Masasumi's face turned a little sour, but he was quick to hide it. 

_Phew, thank god he's not a pest, like it often happens with men._

“Well, I hope you have a good time!” He smiled widely.

“Thank you!”

Ishi appeared to live near Kenma and Kuroo's, so Masasumi accompanied me the whole journey, and we parted nearly at my destination, where I got a bright grin and a warm goodbye.

 _He sure is a cute guy_ , I thought with a small smile while I waited for the door to be opened.

“Whoa, half an hour early?” Kuroo's face showed in the crack and he promptly opened the door wider to let me in. “That's gotta be your new record. Oya? A gift?”

“A gift?” Kenma wandered in from their daily room, PSP in hands.

“Be glad I turned back from the bus stop to get it after I forgot to take it with me,” I said with a deadpan face. “I hope you'll like it. A little warning, though…” I smirked. “I don't think you'd like to open it with other people around.”

That was a lie, but I wickedly enjoyed the thought of their confused faces once they opened the box in an expectant, intimate atmosphere once the party was over and all the guests gone.

“Oya oya oya!” Kuroo cackled. “I can't promise I'll hold back for so long.”

“Yes, you will…” Kenma muttered, standing next to Kuroo while I took off my coat, hat, and shoes.

Kuroo sighed.

“Yes, I will.” He leaned down to peck the top of Kenma's head, making Kenma scowl in embarrassment and walk away, still playing his game. “But more importantly… how are you feeling?”

“Way better. Kenma's gross syrup helped a lot, and I topped it with Alisa's mixture… and Mrs. Yamada gave me some pills that can stop my runny nose for a couple of hours, so for now I'm fantastic.”

I followed Kuroo to the living room and plopped down at the kotatsu. It was moved to the side, leaving plenty of free floor, so I suspected that there was some sort of dancing planned for later (obviously by Kuroo's idea). The guys were blessed with two lovely, deaf, very old women as their closest two neighbours, and with another neighbour who barely ever was present in that one of his apparently three residences, and two other flats that were empty, so there was not much of a problem when it came to parties.

“Well, since you are here so early, can you help me with the cookies?” Kuroo whispered, staring at me pleadingly. “And make it sound like you actually want to, because you love baking and shit… I told Kenma I could make it, but I think I fucked it up already…”

I patted his shoulder.

“Leave it to me and pretend you are working. But try to learn something, or I'll kick your ass. You're a chemist, for hell's sake, how did it happen that you suck at cooking so much?”

Yes, I did want to help Kuroo out, but another reason for getting flour halfway up my forearms was that I had to keep my mind occupied from going nuts at the prospect of spending an entire evening with Sugawara in proximity.

The rest of the guests started arriving almost 30 minutes later, when the last batch of cookies was about to finish baking and Kenma beat the final boss in his game. The first to come were Lev and Yaku with Yamaguchi and Tsukishima right after, then some three girls from Kuroo's workplace (they introduced themselves as Kō, Anri, and Momoi, and I had to agree with Kuroo's old remark how their faces were not the first thing most people noticed about the two latter). By then I was buzzing with anticipation.

Kuroo was taking out the last cookies to cool them down when the bell rang again and Kenma answered to let in more people.

“'Sup!”

“Good evening!”

I froze in track, accidentally squeezing out more frosting than I should.

“Tanaka, Suga, hi, welcome!” Kuroo called from the kitchen. Lev and Yamaguchi gave me thumbs up, Tsukishima smirked, and Yaku winked.

“Hey hey hey, wait up!”

“Kōtarō, don't yell.” 

“Eh? But I'm not yelling, Keijiiiii…”

“Everyone's here now.” Kuroo grinned.

“You've got frosting on your chin, Tetsu.” Kenma walked into the kitchen to check if the preparations were all buttoned up. “You can go out there now, you know,” he said to me with a small smile. He ran his fingers through his black hair — his pudding head was now a distant high school memory — and reached out his hand to wipe the frosting off Kuroo's face.

“Can one of you go with me?” I squeaked out, pinching my lips.

Kuroo chuckled. Kenma licked the frosting off his fingers, staring at me with amusement.

“Hey hey hey, where are you, bro?!”

“Oya? Did I just hear one owl son of a gun in my living room?” Kuroo grinned even wider and nodded at me to follow.

“The only guns in this place are my arms, oya oya oya!”

“Haaa, you wish!”

“Oooh, look whom the devil brought in!” Bokuto stood up to crush me to his chest. “Been a while, Kitty Lady!”

“Bokuto… ribs…” I wheezed out before falling into a whole new level of a coughing fit.

“Kōtarō…” Akaashi didn't raise his voice, but then again, he never had to raise his voice to get whatever he wanted to say through.

“Sorry!” Bokuto let me go bashfully.

“It's good to see you, too.” I patted his back and turned to the other guests. Tanaka took a small break from staring at Kuroo's co-workers to greet me, but all my thought vanished when I saw Sugawara.

He wore a plum purple shirt and no one ever in the history of the universe had ever worn a plum purple shirt better.

And he god damn _stood up_ to say hello to me.

“Nice to see you,” he said with that beaming smile of his. I nodded, still working on bringing my brain to function well enough to compose words. “Are you feeling better? We were all worried about you.”

“M— ah— y— yeah, I'm better, I'm fine,” I mumbled, forcing myself not to trip on anything on my way to the kotatsu.

Kuroo and Kenma's flat was big — the biggest in the block — which they could afford thanks to their prominent jobs, as different as they were in the field. Hence, they had enough space for a big, big kotatsu. This particular one could comfortably fit 12 people, three on each side, and that meant that at the moment, there were only three seats left: two were next to each other and the last lone one was exactly between Lev and Sugawara.

Of course I wasn't going to take any of those two neighbouring ones, they were obviously reserved for Kuroo and Kenma.

That left me with one possible option, and Lev patted the pillow next to him to emphasize it.

“Right…” I muttered to myself. “May I?” I asked, using titanic strength not to sound awkward.

It was an utter failure.

“Sure!” Both Lev and Suga gri— uh, both Lev and _Sugawara_ grinned at me. I was used to the former, but not to the latter, and it showed in how my ears warmed up.

_But it's okay, I can blame it on my cold. It's okay._

I suddenly noticed that both of them had nearly the same hair colour.

_What the hell am I supposed to do with this information now? Wait… what if Sugawara's hair isn't dyed? It went grey before he turned 25? That happens, I guess, but not the whole head? It's not like I could just ask, I mean, how stupid would that sound? “Yeah, thanks, I'm feeling fine, by the way, is your hair natural grey even though you are so young, or you dye it, or maybe you are half-Russian like Lev?”_

_No. All aboard the Nope Train. I'm definitely not asking about it._

I nestled myself between them, trying to ignore Lev's shit-eating grin as well as the hammering of my heart (and hoping that no one could hear it). I was close enough to Sugawara for our legs to almost-almost touch and I was barely holding up as soon as my nose detected the smell of his aftershave. And probably his shampoo. Yes. It definitely was the shampoo.

I risked taking a peek at him. As fate (or whatever else) had it, he chose the exact same moment to glance at me and I had the opportunity to ponder on how nice it was that he had such milky pale skin, because even the tiniest blush was ridiculously easy to notice on it.

Like now.

I was internally screaming.

“You've got very nice perfumes,” Sugawara said, averting his gaze to watch Kenma, who finally left the kitchen.

_Oh?_

_Oooh?_

_OOOOH?!_

_Don't tell me he was thinking exactly the same as me just now._

“Thanks, Sugawara,” I muttered with a tiniest giggle. Confidence was pooling back into my head and it was a wonderful sensation.

“Suga is fine.” He chuckled and it was my turn to go a little pink. Lev snorted and didn't bother muffling it, which earned him a good elbow stab in his ribs from both Yaku and me.

But yes, he was right with his prediction concerning Suga's nickname, I had to admit that. I sure didn't complain.

“So, hi again!” Kuroo stood next to Kenma and grinned at us. Kenma didn't say a word, but he somehow seemed quieter than usual. “Before we get to the party stage, Kenma and I have something to tell you.”

Bokuto leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. I suspected he held his breath.

Kuroo grabbed Kenma's hand and raised it for everyone to see the little, plain but cute ring on it.

“We are engaged!”

It was like a ton of dynamite went off in the flat.

It was an explosive mix of woman squeals, baritone hoot-hoots (courtesy of Bokuto), “congratulations/congrats/YAY/awesome/FUCK YES/fantastic/HELL YEAH” at any pitch imaginable, one huge “CALLED IT” from Yaku, followed up by Yamaguchi's happy “I knew it, you'll pay up after we come home, Tsukki”.

Kenma's intensely red face, Kuroo's watery eyes, and their wide smiles were a cherry on top.

Then there was Bokuto, who jumped to his feet, wrapped his muscular arms around them both and raised them from the floor (squeezing all air from their lungs), Akaashi's warning, Bokuto's “sorry, bro, I don't even, I can't, I'm gonna cry”, Lev's two-metre-and-something form enveloping the three guys at once in his long, long arms (Lev had tear tracks down his face and snot reaching his lips), and Tanaka, who got to them in two huge steps and began vigorously patting everyone on their backs and shoulders. Tsukishima commented something about “simpletons and their overreacting”, but his sarcasm was spoiled by a suspicious humidity in his voice.

It took a good moment for the general commotion to tone down, after which a bottle of champagne was corked off and the party started. I discovered that Momoi had known Atsushi (and his terrifying diet habits) from the ancient times of middle school (“the world is small and the huge purple sasquatch is really easy to find in it”), chuckled at Kō's direct compliments at Bokuto's biceps, and helped Anri unravel from her shy demeanour.

And, of course, I sank deep into a careful, tentative small-talk with Suga, bravely keeping up while indulging myself in listening to his pretty voice. There was just the right amount of little hoarseness in it, like soft, tiny-grained sand, something that must have come with age, and it was as warm and open as his smiles, and if it wasn't for my determined focus, I would've ultimately forgotten about paying attention to his words.

Somewhere during dinner (“Hotpot, yum!” — direct quote from Lev) Kuroo set on a playlist of oldschool rock music and my skin all crawled with anticipation. Suga was peeking every now and then towards the what was about to turn into dancing space and that made me scream internally again.

_Oh my god oh my god oh my god come on come on come on COME ON!_

And then finally FINALLY Kuroo stood up and pulled Kenma after him. For the first couple of steps they seemed to battle over who would be the lead, which was the most adorable thing ever, and then…

“May I have this dance?”

I nodded with a smile, barely registering Lev and Yamaguchi landing a high-five over the table when my heart was about to punch itself through my ribs and out of my chest.

One hand on my waist, the other holding my own, my other hand on his shoulder, one slow song, then another, and the space between us seemed to gradually grow smaller.

“I think we were set up, weren't we?” Suga murmured with a lopsided smile.

_We. Oh god._

“I guess…” I muttered, glancing off to the side. I caught Lev's satisfied smirk, then Tsukishima's amused stare, and Bokuto's awed, encouraging grin.

“I'm not complaining.”

“Nor am I.” I chuckled.

“I have to admit…” Suga bit his lip for a moment and the sight made my throat dry up. “I was pretty dumbfounded when I saw you that evening the day before yesterday.”

I bowed my head and giggled.

“Well… dumbfounded would be an understatement in my case.”

“R— really?”

“You sound dumbfounded right now.” I grinned despite the steadily growing blush on my cheeks.

“That's because I so am.”

We stared at each other for a moment before letting out a good laugh, as much because it somehow seemed funny as to find a way to deal with a bit of tension that suddenly thickened the air.

“One hundred yen for it.”

Suga and I turned to stare at Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.

“I see you are still betting on everything like back then,” Suga commented, amused and sort of sentimental at the same time. He smirked. “And you are just as hopeless at hiding it. It's not much of a bet when the subjected one knows.”

“Don't tell us how to bet.” Tsukishima snorted. “Besides… you have no idea what we bet about.”

Suga shrugged.

“I'll leave you to it, have fun.”

“Pity that Shōyō couldn't make it.” I heard Kenma mutter to Kuroo.

“It's his own dumbass fault he got sick, who the hell is running outside after practise in this weather?”

“He hasn't changed either when it comes to this,” Suga mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Pay up, Tadashi.”

“But their bets are on a whole another level now.”

Bokuto finished fishing out the last bits from the hotpot and everyone helped with cleaning up the table to make room for the desserts. Kenma did not comment on the obvious fact that the cookies were very much not Kuroo's work, but I didn't miss the daring look he gave him when he thought no one was paying attention. It made me wonder whether they had set some sort of challenge in this matter.

“How about Truth or Dare?” Kuroo narrowed his eyes in a grin that was almost sadistic. Akaashi rubbed this eyebrows. His experience with the game was at the very least embarrassing (Every. Single. Time.), but that was a whole another story.

Not waiting for anyone's opinion, Kuroo pulled out a bowl filled with a bunch of paper scraps that undoubtedly contained our names, and reached it out to Kenma. They exchanged brief glances and Kenma drew out one of them.

“Bokuto.”

“Dare!” Bokuto grinned, setting his tea aside. He was not allowed to drink coffee unless under special circumstances.

Lev slammed his hand on the table.

“Booked! Kiss Akaashi's butt!”

The game merrily went on, raising blushes and laughing fits (and risqué comments from Kuroo, Tanaka, and Bokuto… Lev tried his best). Yamaguchi was forced to sing “These boots are made for walking” while doing a pocky walrus and Tsukishima admitted that on their way to the party they had stopped in a deserted alley to— Yamaguchi immediately plastered his hand over Tsukishima's mouth to muffle the rest of the sentence, but everyone got the meaning anyway and burst out laughing.

“Suga.”

“Truth?”

“Oya?” Kuroo's eyes rapidly shifted between Suga and me when Kenma leaned to his ear and mumbled something.

“Nice idea.” He smirked viciously. “Describe what you thought when you saw her the first time two days ago.” Kuroo pointed at me, then placed his elbows on the table, laced his fingers together, and supported his chin on them with a disgustingly pleased grin.

“Um…” Suga noticeably gulped and his ears burned hot. “She's nice?”

“Ohohoho, you can't skip out of it so easily!” Bokuto cackled. “We agreed that you have to talk way more if the question isn't for yes or no!”

Suga hid his face in his hands for a moment.

My insides twisted themselves in a tight knot.

“Okay…” He took a deep breath and dug his stare into the ceiling. “W— well.” He cleared his throat.

Tsukishima muttered shortly with Yamaguchi, most likely setting another bet.

“First… first I thought that I would visit the café as often as I could, because I kind of suddenly forgot that I was about to start work there.” He chuckled awkwardly. “That was the general impression. Then, well, um, I think I noticed that she, um, that _you_ were a little shy or flustered after you saw us and I ho— hoped it was be— because of me…?”

_Of course it was because of you, have you seen yourself in a mirror?_

“Ohohoho!” Bokuto gave him thumbs up. “Go on!”

“This is embarrassing…” Suga covered his eyes.

“Too bad!” Kuroo tilted his chin up triumphantly. “The rules are sacred.”

“Um, she is very kind and has a really nice voice?” Suga bit the inside of his cheek. On the outside, his face was gradually turning from pink to red.

“We all know you are avoiding talking about her looks…” Tsukishima smirked.

“… she's stunning. _You're stunning._ ”

The face I made must have been hilarious, because once Lev pointed his finger at me, everyone started laughing like there was no tomorrow. I face-planted the table and covered the top of my head with my hands.

“Let's give them a break.”

_Thank you, Yaku. Bless you._

“You'll pay up twice when we are home, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi whispered happily.

_Fuck you, Yamaguchi._

“Ohohoho, you've jinxed yourself, this is your name right here, Yaku!”

After a while or two everyone got bored with the game, the cookies and cake were almost gone (as was the champagne and one bottle of wine from Akaashi and Bokuto), and Kuroo decided it was time to bring back some more music and dance for the end of the party.

I glanced at my watch.

01:19 am.

I raised my eyebrows.

_That sure went by really fast._

It seemed like everyone was mostly too tired to muster up any livelier moves, so in most cases it ended up with hugging each other and slowly turning around (and with Bokuto constantly trying to sneak his hands to Akaashi's backside, apparently convinced that Akaashi wouldn't notice having his butt groped). Anri, Momoi, and Kō were dancing all three together in a circle, holding hands and waving them back and forth like in kindergarten, with a heavenly happy, very tipsy Tanaka in the middle.

Kenma was held up with his legs wrapped around Kuroo's waist and arms around his shoulders and they were slowly turning and rocking side to side, leaning their heads on one another.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi seemed content to simply sit back, lazily nod along the rhythm, and have an ear to ear conversation.

As for Suga and me…

I had a whole build up of courage — either from the wine or maybe the earlier game — and I somehow managed to lean my head onto his collarbone. Even though we still retained some half-assed version of the dancing form, hand in hand and with his other hand on my waist and my other hand on his shoulder, it felt different from before. The mix of the wine I had and the smell of his aftershave and shampoo made me light-headed and when I closed my eyes, my world narrowed to that scent, to his warmth, to the slow rise and fall of his chest with each breath and the way we held each other, and at that moment I was so happy that my skin was all tingling.

Suga rested his cheek on top of my head and something stirred in my stomach. His hand slowly moved from my waist to the middle of my back and I was gently pulled closer. My eyes shot open and I bit my lips. Our bodies were flush and I couldn't discern whether that insane heartbeat was mine, his, or perhaps both.

_I'm asleep and this can't be real, right?_

I wasn't sure how many songs passed nor how did I say goodbye to Kuroo and Kenma, nor how I put on my coat and boots, nor how I left their flat and slowly strolled towards the bus stop — what I was sure of, however, was that somehow my hand was hooked at Suga's elbow and we were walking together in comfortable silence down the desolated street. The rain was long gone and only puddles and dripping branches proved it had ever been present.

“Is your bus stop far from your home?” Suga asked when we sat down on a bench to wait. Busses so late at night were scarce, but my 208 would arrive in six minutes. “It's dangerous to walk around alone at such hour.”

“No, it's fine,” I muttered, swinging my legs above the ground. “It's right across the street.”

“Still, various people can get on the bus,” he mulled, tilting his head back to stare at the clouded sky.

Some car passed by, illuminating every single wet surface around, making it glimmer.

“Yeah, that happens.” I scowled.

“I can see you to your door, better safe than sorry.” He leaned forward to glance at me with a kind smile, a more tired and sleepy version of his bright grin.

“That would be nice…”

I was half asleep by the time the bus arrived, and I probably napped through the 6 stops it took to get to my street. It was difficult to say, because all of it registered more like a line of sensations and pictures, gazes from beautiful brown eyes, soft smiles, quiet words, phone numbers, leaning my head on his shoulder, warm arm around my own shoulders…

And then I found myself at my doorstep, staring in silence at Suga and he was staring right back at me.

He smiled, and so did I.

“So, um… I'll call you?”

“I'd like that,” I said, nodding. I fumbled with the keys and opened the door to the entryway. I held the door with my foot and turned to face him again. “So… good night?”

_Kiss? Just one? Please?_

Suga scooped my hand and bowed a little to press his lips to the tops of my fingers.

“Sleep well. Good night.” He gave me one more smile, the sweetest one yet, and took a couple of steps backwards before turning around to walk away. I watched him until he disappeared around a corner — he looked over his shoulder and waved three times on his way — and only then I entered the building.

I sighed happily every five steps upstairs.

“Oh, good job, moron,” I mumbled, noticing that I had left my door unlocked after I had jumped back to get the forgotten gift. I also forgot my hat at Kuroo and Kenma's. Tsukki didn't even bother getting up from the foot of my bed.

I took off my clothes and hurriedly slipped into previously prepared pyjamas, I dived under the covers, and I was out.

_Good night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *How the hell I ended up with such a behemoth of a chapter? I don't even remember…  
> *Bonus points if you can tell where Anri, Momoi, and Kō are from. I wasn't exactly subtle with hints.  
> *I leave the nature of the mysterious packed gift to your own imagination.  
> *Lev was 1.94m tall when he was 15, he had plenty of time to grow over 2m easily. Oh damn.  
> *Lev and Yamaguchi are hardcore shippers.  
> *About Alisa's recipe for cold: boil milk with crushed or chopped garlic, 3 clove pieces, and some ginger (I don't like ginger, so I skip it), and after it boils, add honey. It works.


	3. Kōshi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why was the front door unlocked?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's me. Really. I dug out myself 6 feet up from underneath my work and found time to write a little and I hope I will stay above the pile for a bit longer and take a breath. Either way, let's go for more fluff and some cheese. I don't know if I need to say it, but I recommend reading the timing of the text messages. It's not essential, but from some point it might be insightful concerning the tone of the messages themselves.

_“Mmm…”_

_“Khh— Kōshi… mmmm… more…”_

_“A-aaah—!” ___

_“Aah—! Kōshi! … Kōshiiii!”_

_“Aaah— nghhh—”_

 

My eyes shot open.

“Seriously?”

I sat up. I paced my heavy breathing to slow down my heartbeat and unclenched my fingers from my pillow. I rubbed my face and looked at the alarm clock. I groaned, falling back onto the mattress.

11:48 am.

“Seriously.”

My throat was annoyingly scratchy, the snotfall was back (but way tamer than before), the inside of my underwear was uncomfortably sticky, and I really, really had to pee. I yawned loudly and stretched.

“Seriously…”

_Forgetting my hat was not a good move._

I coughed and dragged myself to the bathroom.

“Oh?”

I rolled my eyes. My phone was laying on the tiled floor. It must have slipped out of my pocket when I was changing into the pyjamas. I picked it up and sat on the toilet.

“Huh?”

18 new messages.

_Someone sure is impatient… wait… could it be…?_

No.

It wasn't Suga.

It was Lev.

A drunk Lev.

[02:29 am] Lev: YOU SCOERD!!!!!! ᗜಠ o ಠ)¤=[]:::::>  
[02:30 am] Lev: No wait wrogn emoju!!!!  
[02:31 am] Lev: (*ΦωΦ*)  
[02:31 am] Lev: Wrong agaan!!!!!!???  
[02:32 am] Lev: (┛ಠДಠ)┛彡┻━┻  
[02:35 am] Lev: Im so proud of yu!! ( ˃̣̣̥ω˂̣̣̥ )  
[02:35 am] Lev: Im gnna send you pics! !!!  
[02:36 am] Lev: Cus I tok a lot a pic !!!!!  
[02:38 am] Lev: Di uu go to urs and did THE THANG???? ༼.◕ヮ◕.༽  
[02:38 am] Lev: Yauk and me ar gonna do 5tmes ayyyyy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )  
[02:39 am] Lev: Onouuuu he sleepin (;﹏;)  
[02:44 am] Lev: NU WAIT DON DO TH THING YU JUS MET NOO!!!!!!! (((( ;°Д°))))  
[02:45 am] Lev: DO NUT DO IT DONUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ｼ;ﾟДﾟ)ｼ  
[02:49 am] Lev: Im dasm46555kl da grt98j jjj jl 1112333

I started laughing after the second one and by the end of it I almost had tears in my eyes. The four latest messages were sent shortly before I woke up.

[11:28 am] Lev: Holy poop DONUT AHAHAHAHA!!! (*≧▽≦)  
[11:29 am] Lev: No but really, what happened after you left??? (゜。゜)  
[11:29 am] Lev: TELL ME EVERYTHING!  
[11:30 am] Lev: TELL ME!!!!! ( ꒪Д꒪)ノ

I took my time in the bathroom, had a shower, wiped the remains of the make-up from my face, brushed my teeth… before I was done, I received 3 new messages.

[11:57 am] Lev: I'm going to come by with auntie's special soup, I bet you are dying!! ٩(ˊωˋ*)  
[11:57 am] Lev: I'll be there in a half!  
[11:58 am] Lev: If Suga is still there, say hello to him from me!!! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)

I giggled and rubbed my eyes.

[12:02 pm] me: Calm down, dumbass.  
[12:02 pm] me: I'll be waiting! :)

Lev did not stop staring at me intensely until I described him the previous night — well, the part he hadn't seen by himself — and he drank in every word that came from my mouth like it was the revelation of the meaning of life.

Or cat poetry.

“Aawww, no kiss?” he groaned into his mug of tea.

“I think it was more charming like this.” I smiled gently.

“But the evening went almost completely according to the plan, you exchanged numbers, cuddled, and talked. Yes!” Lev clapped and rubbed his hands, taking on a severely determined expression.

I snorted and reached across the table to mess up his hair.

“You sure are persistent. I can manage on my own, though, you know.”

Lev inhaled to retort, but before he said anything, my phone buzzed to inform me about a new message.

We looked at it, and then we slowly stared at each other.

“Do you think…?” I asked quietly, grabbing the phone like it was about to explode.

“Open it open it open it—” Lev chanted, impatiently patting my back.

I pinched my lips and clicked on the notification with Lev peering over my shoulder.

“YES!” He wrapped his wiry arms around me and squeezed tight.

“Lev… don't be Bokuto…”

“Sorry.”

I ran my eyes over the text again, feeling a huge grin lighting up my entire face.

[12:52 pm] Suga: Hello! :) Did you sleep well? I hope that your cold is gone.

“What do I do?!” I squeaked. Lev sighed.

“Reply. That's what people do.”

“Uuuuuhhhh…” My brain suddenly decided to remind me of what I had dreamt about before I woke up less than two hours ago. My face instantly flushed red. “Okay. Okay…”

[12:54 pm] me: Hi! Yes, I did. How about you? My cold is back. :(

“This feels so awkward,” I muttered. “This text doesn't sound the way I'd usually say anything at all.”

“Give it time.” Lev winked. Twice. Then wiggled his eyebrows.

“Why am I friends with you, I swear…” I covered my eyes.

“Because you love me soooo much!” He squeezed me again and rocked us fast side-to-side.

“You keep telling yourself that.”

“Aww, so mean. Speaking of which…” Lev looked around. “Where's the man of the house? Tsukki!”

“He was still sleeping the last time I was in the bedroom.” I frowned. “But he should've been here as soon as he heard your voice…”

“I'll give him a good wake-up hugging. You stick here and talk.” He wiggled his eyebrows again and I rolled my eyes.

[12:57 pm] Suga: Ah, sad to hear that! :( How bad is it? Do you have anyone there to take care of you? Does your head hurt?  
[12:57 pm] me: It's not that bad. :) Lev is here and I still have his and Kenma's homemade specials, I'll be fine in no time. And you? Hungover? :P  
[12:58 pm] Suga: A little… ^^; But nothing dramatic.  
[12:58 pm] Suga: Good to hear that Lev is there! He matured a lot since high school, I'm sure he can take a good care of you. :)  
[12:59 pm] me: He did. But don't tell him, or you won't hear the end of it. :P  
[01:00 pm] Suga: So you are best friends?  
[01:00 pm] me: Don't tell him that either. :')  
[01:01 pm] Suga: Noted~! :)

Lev called my name from the bedroom.

“Yeah?”

[01:01 pm] Suga: So, I was thinking.  
[01:01 pm] Suga: Maybe when you feel better, we could go see a movie? :)

My heart did a double flip.

“LEV! DATE! IT'S A DATE!”

“I think Tsukki is sick.”

I looked up from my phone to see a very worried Lev.

“He's kinda lethargic and by the looks of it, his tummy hurts.”

“… what?” I blinked. “Eh? But… why? What from? He only eats what I give him, and it's the same food as always. Wait, no. No. I need to get him to the vet, what if this is serious?”

The phone buzzed again, but I was too distracted to pay attention.

Lev bit his lips.

“You stay put, no need for you to get this cold worse. I'll take him to Tanaka.”

“Tanaka?” I tilted my head to the side. “You mean _that_ Tanaka? _That Tanaka_?”

“He's a vet, yeah.” Lev shrugged. “I thought you knew. He talked about it a lot yesterday.”

“I wasn't focused on him, you know…” I stood up and followed Lev to my bedroom. I tightened my lips. Tsukki didn't look fine at all. I glanced at Lev and he patted my head comfortingly.

“I'll take care of him. He'll be up and about and pissing you off before you notice. Don't worry.”

I ran my fingers through my hair.

Five minutes later I was alone. Lev carefully put my cat into the travel basket and they were out.

“There is no way he could get sick from anything here,” I muttered, sitting on my bed, absent-mindedly picking at the skin under my fingernails. “I didn't leave any food out, and he wouldn't eat anything that isn't food. He doesn't like much anything that isn't his favourite brands anyway.” I rubbed my forehead. “What if… what if it isn't food poisoning?” I gulped. “What if it's some physical condition?”

I could hear my phone buzzing about a new text in the kitchen and I suddenly remembered I was talking about Big Things with Suga. I jumped to my feet and dashed to pick it up.

[01:06 pm] Suga: No good?  
[01:09 pm] Suga: It's totally okay if you don't want to. :)  
[01:14 pm] Suga: Did I say something wrong?  
[01:15 pm] Suga: If I did, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to.

“Shit shit shit…”

I slumped down onto the chair and slapped my face against the tabletop.

“I'm a human disaster,” I muttered.

_Enter panic._

[01:17 pm] me: I'm so sorry! Yes, I'd love to!  
[01:17 pm] me: I'm sorry I kept you waiting!  
[01:17 pm] me: Lev said Tsukki is sick and he took him to the vet, I just got so distracted, I'm so sorry.  
[01:18 pm] me: Movie sounds fantastic! :)

“Please reply, please, _pleaaaase_ …” I bit my lips, tapping on the table with my fingers.

[01:18 pm] Suga: Oh, I'm glad! :) I think we should wait until you feel better and then we'll see about the time? And what movie?  
[01:19 pm] Suga: Wait… Lev took Tsukishima to a veterinarian? Why a veterinarian…?

* * *

“Apparently he was poisoned.”

Lev took off his coat and ran his hand through his messed up hair. I automatically went to the bathroom to get him a hairbrush, a response performed so often and for so long that it didn't require a single word from neither me nor him.

“Poisoned.” I repeated absently. “Wait… poisoned? You mean food poisoning?”

“Uh, no. Actual poison,” Lev said quietly. He finished fixing his hair and walked over to leave the brush by the bathroom mirror. “Tanaka said it was probably rat poison.”

My throat dried up.

“Rat poison? What the hell? What even? I don't have any here, there aren't any rats in the whole damn building, what the hell are you saying?”

Lev scratched his neck and bit his lips. He followed me into the kitchen and put on the kettle.

“Well, maybe it wasn't rat poison, but Tanaka said that most likely it was. He will know more after he gets the test results.” He patted my shoulder. “But Tsukki will be all right. He got a thorough purge and is now resting under observation. Tanaka said the dose wasn't big enough to make any significant damage.”

I nodded and swallowed thickly.

“How did this even happen?” I asked in a thin voice. “He never goes out, and no one I invite here would ever do such a thing, there's not a single chance…” I trailed off.

Cold sweat broke all over my skin.

“Fuck.”

Lev frowned in confusion.

“Huh? What is it?”

“Yesterday… I mean, last night…” I gulped. “I was in a hurry because I forgot the gift for Kuroo and Kenma, and I had to run back from the bus stop, and then I sprinted outside, and I thought I forgot to lock the door, because when I got back last night, it was unlocked… and… but…”

The kettle began whistling. Lev sprang up to turn it off and prepare tea. I stared absently at the patterns on the tablecloth.

“So what you are saying…” he said slowly, “… is that someone broke in.”

“What if they were still here, hiding somewhere, when I came back?” I whispered with wide eyes. “Oh my god. What if I was this close to… oh my god.”

“Don't you say it.” Lev cut in. “Don't you dare say it.”

I glanced at him. He was biting his lips and his chin was shaking.

“Don't you dare say that.” He sighed. “Here.” He placed a mug in front of me, filled with hot chocolate instead of the tea I had expected. “I forgot about whipped cream, sorry.”

I snorted despite myself and brought the mug to inhale the sweet smell.

“You need to check if anything's missing. And change locks. I'll go ask the neighbours in case they saw anything. And call the police.”

“I doubt they will find anything,” I muttered between taking careful sips. “But if you are really going to ask anyone, go to Mrs. Yamada, she's the TokyoTV News in the area.”

“Mrs. Yamada?” Lev's face fell, but then he took on a determined expression. “Mrs. Yamada, then. I'll be right back.”

With that, he marched out, closing the front door behind him.

I sighed. My head felt numb and I was aware that the weight of the situation hadn't properly set in my mind yet.

“A break-in, huh.” I took another sip.

* * *

In the end, nothing was missing, none of my neighbours — not even Mrs. Yamada — saw nor heard anything out of ordinary, and the police only confirmed that there was no way to find the culprit.

It wasn't like one poisoned cat meant anything to them anyway.

My cold was almost gone by Wednesday, the same day I was informed that the investigation was closed, and I finally got back to work.

Later than usual, though.

I entered the café at half past ten. It was freezing cold outside, but I took all the precautions and wrapped myself in so many layers I could nearly roll instead of walking.

“Welcome to the Little Black Cat Café! Please, have a seat!”

I almost collided with a table, making every single pair of eyes in the room direct to me.

_Oh my god._

_Oh my fucking god._

_He really IS working here._

“Eh?”

“Huh?”

“Suga, can you bring a new pack of cinnamon from the storage room?” Lev appeared behind the counter. He noticed me and grinned. “Hey! I was wondering when you'd come.”

“Hi.” I croaked breathlessly. “H— hi!” I repeated louder, feeling my ears heating up.

“Good to see you,” Suga said with a smile that was definitely not good for my health, judging by what it did to my heartbeat. “You are feeling better, then?”

“Uh, yes, I'm fine.” I offered a lopsided, utterly awkward grin.

_How the hell did I forget about this?!_

I bowed a little and darted (as naturally as possible — meaning not at all) to the back room to get changed.

I was about to throw on the apron when someone knocked at the door and my newly developed sense gave me a clear suspicion of who that was.

“Yes?”

The door opened to reveal Suga.

“Um…” He averted his gaze. He seemed just as anxious as I was and it somehow gave me courage.

“What's on your mind?” I asked kindly, deciding to finally tie the apron around my waist.

“I, um.” He chuckled awkwardly and looked at me again, but his face turned more serious… and concerned?

“Are you _really_ okay?”

I giggled, but even Lev from his dense era of early teens would detect that it was rather forced.

“Yeah, I'm…”

_Is there really any point in putting up a mask? I'm 100% sure he can tell if someone's lying, and he seems genuinely worried. And… well… I suppose that starting off with building up a wall is not a good idea._

_Wow. That was so mature._

“No,” I muttered, digging my stare into the floor. “Not really.”

Suga exhaled softly. It wouldn't take a genius to hear a bit of relief in it.

“Want to talk about it?” He straightened up. “I. I mean. I can call Lev or Kuroo, if you'd prefer… um…”

“Mm, no.” I murmured. “Thank you. But right now we've got work, so that will have to wait.”

“So, you mean…?” His face lit up, but he was still clearly concerned.

“I'll take up on your offer, yes.” I smiled.

“Happy to hear that.” He grinned and closed his eyes for a moment before he sighed and stretched his arms. “Back to work, then.”

_Okay, this might be a damn stupid idea._

“Um…” I started, but words betrayed me and I suddenly had no idea what I intended to say.

“Hmm?” Suga glanced over his shoulder, standing at the threshold. The warm light from the café seeped in, outlining his form and making something close to a halo by reflecting and shining on his fluffy hair.

_I've got it so bad._

_And Kuroo, of all people, called it._

I slapped myself mentally and approached Suga in three big steps. He turned around, both puzzled and slightly flustered, because hell I must have looked _that kind_ of determined. Whatever he expected, though, it probably wasn't having my arms wrapped around him in a very, very brief squeeze.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, ignoring how my entire face flushed pink. I released him and made a move to step back, but I was embraced and pulled in close again.

I was pretty sure my eyes grew to the shape and size of saucers.

_Light-headed. I'm so light-headed._

_I'm reacting like a middle-schooler._

I was initially planning to only squeeze him for a blink of an eye, but after Suga let go, I concluded that the hug lasted nowhere near long enough.

He gave me one more sweet smile and pointed his chin at the door.

* * *

I had always loved working in the café, and most of the time I thought that the shifts passed so fast it seemed as if time was sped up at least thrice its usual tempo. I had always also thought that when you were anxious about some future event, the time separating you from it would pass way faster than it should. Adding one to the other, it would be natural to expect that the day would run by like mad.

It didn't.

Every time I glanced at the cuckoo clock, every time I took a peek at my own watch, at my phone, or asked Lev what hour was it, it would only show that minutes crawled by like they were dying or about to fall asleep.

_How is it just ten past noon?_

_How can it be only a quarter past noon?_

_Uuuuh, why is it still twenty minutes to one?_

Between serving the clients, washing dishes, and preparing orders, I could steal a moment or two to engage in small talk with Suga. Normally it would have been with Lev, but the bastard was somehow always out of reach whenever an occasion for a conversation came by. I had no doubts that it was absolutely deliberate, same as the fact that he offered to take order from Masasumi, who without a fail walked in at his usual half past two. I was quietly talking with Suga at that moment and in the corner of my vision I could see how Masasumi stretched his neck to find me from where he was sitting.

“He asked if Suga was the guy you wanted to meet at Kuroo and Kenma's,” Lev remarked, returning to the counter when Suga was taking an order from a table by the window. “Masasumi. You talked about it to him?”

“I met him at the bus stop when I was going to the party.” I shrugged. “I hoped it could get him off my neck, okay?”

“So smooth.” Lev rolled his eyes and giggled. “But that was not a bad idea. Not sure whether as effective as you expected, though. He looks at Suga like he's predicting his death.”

“Masasumi almost cried when he stepped on Ponpon's tail last month.” This time it was my turn to make an eye-roll. “He'd sooner kill _himself_ than someone else.”

“Wow, you actually took this seriously?” Lev snorted. He looked at the cuckoo clock. “Almost three already? I'll be going, time to do yesterday's accounting, uuuhhh…” He rubbed his face, but then he perked up and stared at me with a nasty grin.

I was prepared.

“By the way… neither Kuroo and Kenma nor Yamaguchi can stick over with the cats tonight. I think it's a good opportunity to show Suga how this works.” He grinned even wider and leaned in. “Guess who is staying to guide him?”

I was not prepared.

“I have this strange feeling that Kenma, Kuroo, and Yamaguchi actually have nothing that would keep them from staying over. Am I right?” I mumbled while my imagination stormed off wild. _Wild_. Wild enough to crash into the memory of the dream I had last night. I coughed and averted my vision.

“I've already told him, no need to worry about that.” Lev's face melted into a perfectly innocent expression before he turned around and disappeared in the back room.

I let out a sound of ultimate surrender.

“Since when is Lev so deft at plotting?” I mumbled under my breath while I was rowing halved plums on top of raw cake dough.

“Hi!” Yamaguchi stepped into the kitchen, tying the apron behind his back. “Back to work? Good to see you. How's Tsukki?”

“Hey.” I nodded at him. “Better. Tanaka said he's a tough cookie, so he'll be all right. He's keeping him under observation for another couple of days, just in case.”

“So it was rat poison?”

“It seems so,” I muttered, biting my lips.

“And the police didn't find anything?”

“Not a trace. But I guess they didn't search too hard. Nothing was missing after all, you know.”

“They should care about animals more,” Yamaguchi drawled. I nodded. “I'll take over here, you go behind the counter.”

I certainly didn't mind getting back to the customer space. I deemed any and every opportunity to see Suga as precious. At that moment, he was talking to Masasumi — or rather listening to whatever Masasumi was saying. One of Suga's eyebrows was upped, but he maintained a kind smile nevertheless. I didn't think it was possible to have one eyebrow up, which usually showed scepticism, and keep a kind smile at the same time.

“I've got a bad feeling about this,” I murmured. I made a beeline to Masasumi's table.

“Oh, hello!” Masasumi noticed me right away and his face instantly lightened up. Suga glanced over his shoulder. His expression clearly spoke _help me_.

“Hi!” I chirped, mustering up courage to hook my hand at Suga's elbow and tilt my head onto his shoulder. I felt a tiniest surprised flinch from him before he took a deeper breath and relaxed. “No Ishi today either? It's been a while since I saw you two together.”

“Does it show that much?” Masasumi laughed heartily, but a little awkwardly. His eyes were darting between me and Suga. “Who knew?” He scratched the back of his head. “Anyway, can I have one more plum cake? It's perfect. You are adding cinnamon to it now?”

“Ah, yes.” I nodded. “One of our regulars suggested it.”

“The purple sasquatch?” Masasumi grinned.

“Hmmmmmmm…”

Masasumi's face fell when he turned his eyes to peer behind me and Suga. And slightly above us.

“That's a new one, mhhhmmmmm.”

I was about to lose it, so I coughed to mask the inevitable leak of giggles. I turned around — pulling Suga after me — just in time to see Murasakibara shrug with his typical blank, heavy, bored stare.

“Yo.”

I lightly squeezed Suga's arm before letting go to follow Atsushi to his regular table.

“What are you starting with today?” I asked brightly.

“Mmmmmm… plum cake, three pieces, double hot chocolate with marshmallows, no whipped cream…”

“ _No whipped cream_?” I repeated, raising my eyebrows. “Did something happen?”

“Aho-chin grossed it out for me for now,” Murasakibara drawled, gritting his teeth. “Don't ask, Cat-chin. Mmmmmmm… pistachio cookies, marzipan coffee, chocolate pie slice, chocolate dipped candied cherries, hmmmmmm… hazelnut brownies… and, mmmmmmmm… salted caramel and orange muffins. Six.”

“We also have the cashew layered pound cake you suggested the day before yesterday.” Suga appeared beside the table from behind my back and it was only a miracle that I didn't jump two metres into the air in surprise.

“Mmmmmmm… two pieces of that one, too.” Ponpon jumped onto the sofa next to Murasakibara and he scratched her behind her ear. His hands were big enough to fit the entire 1-year-old kitten on one of them.

“All right!” I bowed a little and made my way to the kitchen. 

“I have noted it down, here,” Suga said, handing me a little notepad. I took a look. Somehow, when written on paper, Atsushi's order seemed way bigger than when he was listing it, but it wasn't exactly what I was peering at.

Suga's handwriting was neat and clean, every mark drawn out with meticulous precision despite how fast he must have been putting it down to keep up with Atsushi's drawl. Even the parts he wrote in Latin letters were shapely and easy to read, and as far as I could tell, without any mistakes.

“Pretty,” I mouthed soundlessly. Then I remembered what I was reading… um, _staring at_ , and I raised my head to smile at Suga. “No need, thank you. I memorised it. Practise and habit. My brain automatically switches to purple mode whenever he sits down.” I laughed.

“Ooooh, impressive!” Suga laughed as well, shoving the notepad to one of the pockets of his apron.

“I'm sure you'll get there soon as well.” I winked and left to the kitchen.

* * *

It seemed impossible, but eventually the day turned into an evening, the sign on the door was switched to “closed”, and Suga and I were almost done cleaning. I finished wiping the tables and the quiet clanking of dishes being washed stopped exactly when I refilled the last napkin stand. The calm jazz was still filling the silence and I wondered when was the last time I stayed over with the cats.

_Been a long time. Definitely before Lev moved out from the first floor, since afterwards it mostly was either Kuroo and Kenma or Yamaguchi with Tsukishima._

Sui meowed and rubbed his side on my calf. I half-consciously leaned down to stroke his head, unsurprisingly not receiving any purring in return. I straightened my back and untied my apron with a sigh.

“All done!” Suga called from the kitchen threshold. I gave him a thumbs-up.

“All done here, too.” I smoothed my apron and strode to the back room to hang it on the hook. Suga followed and his own apron joined beside mine. My hand was still lingering at the hook (of course not deliberately, nooo) and my heart did a wild back-flip when Suga's fingers skimmed over my palm.

“Uhm. Would you…” Suga cleared his throat. “This music you play here is really nice. Maybe you'd like to dance a little?”

I wouldn't dream of saying no, but even if I did, I would have stood no chance against the bone-melting smile he gave me along with the question.

It was the same form as the last time, hand in hand, my other hand on his shoulder, the side of my head on his collarbone, with his cheek on top of my head, with his arm hugging me close, but it was different when no one else was around. The atmosphere was different. Oh, _so different_. More intense. Interested. Testing. Eager. Flustered. More, more, more, more…

We both hummed along the slow melody, swaying lazily and making unhurried circles in the middle of the room. Suga sighed, his breath fanned warmly over my hair.

“Would you like to talk about it now?” he murmured softly.

I sighed, too.

“I'm worried,” I muttered just as quietly. “Tsukki is going to be all right, but why did this happen in the first place? Who goes breaking into someone's home to harm their pets?” I dipped my head a little, pressing it more into Suga's chest. His aftershave, although smelling very faintly after the whole day, was mixed with the familiar scent of the café and the combination was close to intoxicating.

“And what if I were home when they broke in?” I asked, biting my lip. “What would have happened then? Or what if they were still there when I got back? Hiding somewhere? What if…” I trailed off, clenching my teeth. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“It's okay now,” Suga said gently, but I could easily hear how worried he was. “Tsukki is fine and I don't think this could happen again. Lev said you got your locks changed yesterday, right? For better ones. They will be too difficult to simply break through.”

“Yeah, I guess…” I hummed, turning my head to nuzzle his chest absent-mindedly before I realised what I was doing. 

_Smells nice, mhmmmm…_

Then my brain caught up and I quickly withdrew with wide eyes and a tragic blush. I dared to steal a single glance and I saw that Suga was just as flushed as I suspected I was. He cleared his throat awkwardly, but then he gave me that warm, beaming smile of his. My face probably looked heavily sunburned. We kept the same pose, but we stopped dancing and simply gazed at one another without a word. Slowly, so very, very slowly, the hand Suga had on my back left its place to cup my cheek. Suga's glances were switching between my eyes and my lips, and my knees were this close to giving in when his tongue peeked out a tiny bit to run over his own lips.

It was only when his eyelids slid halfway down and he leaned closer that I realised how insanely my heart was racing and I somehow forgot to breathe. My hand trailed seemingly of its own will from Suga's shoulder to the back of his neck, my eyes closed—

We both flinched and I yelped when some car dashed past way over speed limit, honking madly, tires screeching at the curve, those brief two seconds enough to hear happy shouts from the driver and passengers and the booming music played inside as well.

I let out a withheld breath and slumped down, letting my forehead bump onto Suga's shoulder.

I giggled and in a blink of an eye we were both laughing hopelessly, more to unload the awkward, embarrassing atmosphere rather than make a statement about whoever those idiots were.

“Um, so… I didn't really know what to prepare,” Suga said, still chuckling a little, “so I brought my laptop so we could watch some movies, and I thought we could order something?”

“Sounds good to me.” I tilted my head up to grin at him. “What movies do you have?”

“I don't know what kind you like…” He smiled lopsidedly. “So I took a couple of different genres.”

I sighed.

“Nice of you.”

“That's no problem at all.” Suga shook his head. “Pizza?”

“Pizza.”

While he was calling to place an order, I went upstairs to get the pyjamas and underwear I had stored in my drawer there — I had one drawer reserved for things for the overnight stay (Kuroo and Kenma had four for themselves, and Lev with Yaku simply shared a single one) and made my way to the bathroom.

When I stepped out, Suga was already rolling out two futons on the free part of the floor (which was not too big, giving how tiny the flat above the café was), and his laptop was turned on and waiting on the tabletop of the small kotatsu.

“Oh, that one…” I smirked, pointing at the futon he had already prepared. “I'm not sleeping on that one. And you don't want to sleep on it either.”

“Huh?” Suga frowned from where he was kneeling with a small pillow in a pink case with little hedgehogs printed on it in his hands. “Why?”

“That one's Kuroo and Kenma's,” I explained, stifling a chuckle. “I would have loved to say something like that there's no knowing what happened on it, but frankly I can't, because it's rather obvious… and I'm certain that they did not wash it since the last time.”

“Fair enough,” Suga said blankly, giving the terrifying futon a side-glance. I chuckled and knelt down to fold it back. “So whose is this one?” He raised the pillow to examine the hedgehog pattern. “It smells nice.”

My ears burned. 

“Thanks. It's mine.” I grinned. “I got that pillow case from Lev last year.”

_Smells nice, he said. Smells nice._

“Oh… _Oh_!” He put the pillow onto its proper place, although it looked more like he dropped it in surprise… or embarrassment.

The pizza delivery man brought mercy upon the flustered Suga by pressing the button to fill the air with the holy, albeit annoying buzz of the doorbell.

“I'll take it!” I got up, grabbed my bad and ran downstairs, pulling out the wallet on my way.

 _The world sure is small_ , I thought when I was climbing back to the upper floor with the pizza box in my hands and a carton of orange juice on top of it. _It's been a while since I saw Ishi, I had no idea he works as a delivery guy. Though I recall now that Masasumi said something about it?_

_Well, Masasumi always babbles so much that I lose the details._

_But come to think of it, he doesn't speak about his friend almost at all._

I shrugged. Suga was still in the bathroom when I entered the room, so I put the pizza and juice on the table and slipped my legs under the kotatsu. It was turned on and delightfully warm. I sighed contently, raised my hands and stretched, leaning back a little.

The bathroom door creaked and I automatically glanced over my shoulder.

If it was only physically possible, my jaw would have definitely fallen onto the floor.

Green sweatpants and a lose black tank top were nothing unusual, one could say, but the shapely arms that were all bare thanks to this outfit were far from ordinary. They were milky pale like his face and covered in lots of cute moles. My throat dried up in 0.5.

_I'm gonna go nuts._

_I'm so gonna go nuts._

_No, too late. I already have._

“Something's wrong?” Suga tilted his head questioningly.

“No, not at all, nothing,” I said quickly. I patted the space next to me in an invitation and he promptly slid into the seat. The kotatsu was small, way smaller than the one at Kuroo and Kenma's flat, and that meant that our sides were most definitely, very much, quite obviously, seriously, literally, really pressed to one another.

“So…” Suga pulled the laptop towards him and opened some folder. “Those are the movies I have. This one is about…”

I did my best not to get too distracted and listen to his descriptions, and I miraculously managed to focus well enough to be able to choose something.

“ _Howl's Moving Castle_ is based on a book, by the way,” Suga remarked a couple of minutes after the film started. He took out his second slice. “Though both stories differ a lot. This scene, for example, it wasn't in the book at all.” He nodded at the screen that currently showed the wizard and a young lady quite literally strolling in the air above a busy, colourful crowd.

“It's a nice addition,” I said, scooping up my glass.

“The plot goes in a totally another direction later, too,” he continued. “But I like both the book and the movie.” He pouted for a second and then turned to me and smiled. “I like almost everything from this studio.”

“I'd love to watch more of their movies with you later, then,” I admitted, digging my stare into the screen to avoid any potential blush.

“I'm happy to hear that,” Suga mumbled. “I'd love that, too.”

The movie continued, the pizza disappeared, and I somehow found myself with my head on Suga's shoulder and with his arm wrapped around me, my attention divided between the story and my current setting.

Then the last scene ended and credits started scrolling through, accompanied by lovely music. I closed my eyes, sighed, and leaned closer.

“It was nice,” I said quietly.

Suga hummed in reply and lightly trailed his hand up and down my shoulder.

“Another?” I asked.

“Mhmm.” He nodded absently, still stroking my arm. I giggled inwardly.

“Are you there?”

“Mhmmm…”

I giggled aloud and turned my head to look at him.

“Suga?”

He mirrored my move and the atmosphere changed instantly. Our faces were so close I could count his eyelashes if only I was able to get my brain cells to work. Everything was warm and comfortable and smelled nice, and there was his arm wrapped around me, and the movie's melody theme — waltz, of all kinds there were — was still playing, and it was all nearly overwhelming with how heavy my heartbeat was.

Suga's eyes were half-lidded and bright and with dilated pupils, and his lips were a little parted — and I caught myself staring at them. He lifted his hand to skim his fingers under my chin and tilt my head up a bit, and then cup my cheek.

“Kōshi,” he murmured before leaning the rest of the way to close the distance to a gentle kiss.

_Kōshi. Kōshi._

My hands moved on their own accord to sink my fingers into his hair and the little hum that resonated deep in his chest could turn my knees into jelly. There was no way I would let myself break away soon, so I inhaled sharply through my nose and I angled my head, releasing any brakes that might have still lingered at the back of my mind.

Kōshi's arm trailed down from my shoulder to the middle of my back and I was pressed closer. He pulled apart a fraction to take a brief peek at me; the little line of saliva between our lips didn't have time to break before he dived back in. It was slow, unhurried, close to innocent really, just the kind I could have expected, but any expectations had no chance to ever reach how breathtaking the reality was.

At some point, however, even taking in and releasing the air through the nose wasn't enough, not when the mad heartbeat required so much oxygen, and we had to part. We exchanged a short glance and I bowed my head to nuzzle the side of Kōshi's neck and rest my temple on his shoulder. Kōshi sighed and leaned his cheek on my head, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

“How about Friday?” he whispered.

“Mhmm, Friday sounds good,” I mumbled, snaking my arms around his chest.

“Another movie?”

“Sounds good, too.”

Kōshi chuckled.

“Are you listening?”

“Mhmmm…” I closed my eyes and sighed.

_Kōshi._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Howl's Moving Castle is indeed based on a book that I truly recommend.  
> *I have this little headcanon that Suga likes Studio Ghibli. He seems the type.  
> *I just can't resist adding that pinch of purple…  
> *Aho-chin is a mix-up of Aomine turned into Ahomine (aho means more or less "idiot") and Murasakibara's habit of shortening names and adding -chin at the end. I am almost fluent in Murasakibaraish, nanodayo.  
> *I leave it to your imagination what Aomine "Boobs for life" Daiki said to make Murasakibara "Sweets are justice" Atsushi himself be grossed out by the sweet, sweet whipped cream.  
> *If you have seen the latest KnB OVA from December 2015, you might realise why I mentioned a purple sasquatch.  
> Thank you soooo much for all the comments, kudos, and subscriptions, you really make me so happy! ♡♡


	4. Much better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If there was a competition in oversleeping and being late, a certain someone would be bound to take the first, second, and third place… if only they managed to get to the award ceremony on time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, ladies, captains, and gentlemen. It's a date.

The digital clock showed 5:04 am when I focused my sleep-blurred vision. One of the cats was rubbing against my face, emitting quiet meows. It was still a long time before dawn and the room was dark, but by the tone of the meowing and the timing, it was probably Ponpon, since she had a habit of waking everyone up at such ungodly hour to demand breakfast.

Not exactly _everyone_ this time, though. I could hear steady, slightly raspy breathing directly to the right, which meant that Suga… that Kōshi was spared.

I pondered whether I should switch the dim bedside lamp on or not, but the prospect of hitting some obstacle on my way to the cat room and making noise that could wake Kōshi up convinced me to take the risk.

I stifled a wide yawn and pulled the string, it clicked, and the small space took shapes in very faint, orange-yellow light. I turned my eyes to Suga.

_Kōshi. I mean Kōshi._

_It will take some time to get used to that, I guess._

He was laying on his back, one arm draped over his head, and the other, _good god_ , seemed to have been reaching out towards my own futon. His hair was more of a disastrous mess than Kuroo's, and a bedhead worse than Kuroo's was something that I had never ever expected to see — I had always doubted such a thing to exist in the first place. His head was turned towards me, face peaceful and nothing short of angelic even.

I blinked several times and cautiously crawled out from underneath the covers with another yawn. Ponpon darted back to the cat room at soon as I made a move, and she halted at the threshold to ensure that I was truly getting up.

Kōshi stirred and I froze in my track, twisting my neck to check for any signs of him waking up, but he only mumbled something that sounded like “cupcake”, took a deeper breath, and settled back into stable sleep. I let out a withheld breath and sneaked after Ponpon, rubbing my eyes.

When I got back, Kōshi was awake and gazing at me sleepily.

“Did something happen?” he muttered, turning onto his side with a yawn.

“Ponpon and her routine.” I waved it off. “Sorry I woke you up.”

“Oh, it… wasn't… you.” Kōshi bit his lips, looking flustered all of a sudden.

_He had a dream._

_He totally had one just now._

_I wonder if he's h— oh god, stop thinking about this, you perv!_

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” Kōshi chuckled. “Back to sleep? It's really early.”

“Yeah…” I sent him a tired smile and reached out to turn off the light.

Thing was, once I got the inkling of the reason he had woken up, my brain stubbornly refused to let it go. I turned onto my right side, hugging the pink-and-hedgehog pillow, and doing my best not to think about what Kōshi could have possibly dreamt of, but when the memory of my own dream from the previous night floated up to the surface of my consciousness, I was done for.

I rolled onto my back with a frustrated huff and drifted off.

* * *

There was a hand on my shoulder and I was aware of it before I drifted out of sleep. I frowned, then one of my eyebrows tilted up, I opened one eye, and then the other, squinting in the faint light.

“Good morning.”

I blinked a couple of times to get rid of the lingering blurriness. Suga was completely awake, sitting at the edge of my futon, still in his pyjamas, hair still a mess, a hint of stubble on his chin, and he was holding a small tray… there could be no mistake. The tray carried breakfast.

“Do you like French toasts?” he asked. The sky outside was grey and entirely hidden above clouds, but as cheesy as it sounded, Kōshi's smile was so sunny that it was more than enough to make up for it.

My mouth dropped.

“I… you made… you made breakfast… for me?” I stammered, sitting up.

Kōshi blushed and bit his lips.

“I thought you'd like to sleep a bit longer, you must have been tired from worrying so much, and then I thought I could save you time if I did, and I fed the cats, too, and… um…” He scratched his head awkwardly, messing up his hair even more.

“This is fantastic,” I murmured, leaning over to plant a little kiss on his cheek. Kōshi beamed at me and we ate in comfortable silence.

“These are delicious,” I said between two bites. “Seriously.”

“I'm glad to hear that.” He sent me another warm smile and I couldn't help replying with the same.

Eventually, the toasts were gone and the clock showed 8:16. I stretched contently, watching Kōshi as he put the plates and empty tea mugs on the tray. His hair was so ruffled it took a lot of effort to keep myself from running my fingers through it to fix it.

“Thank you.” I leaned closer to nuzzle his shoulder for a brief moment before reaching for the tray. “I'll do the dishes.”

“No need, I'll do that. This is your day off.” Kōshi winked and got to his feet before I even gathered my thoughts to protest.

 _Drunk Lev was right_ , I thought in awe with silly parted mouth. _I really scored._

“I'm going to shower!” I called, hoping he would hear me from the kitchen downstairs. While I rummaged my drawer in search for a shirt and underwear, I heard an acknowledging reply.

“Uuuuugh… what a pain in the ass, I'll have to wear yesterday's,” I groaned upon realising that my drawer ran out of fresh shirts or any tops in general — there were only my knickers, some socks (usually mismatched), a pair of jeans, a cardigan, a scarf, and a skirt that I hadn't worn for at least the past three years. And, hell knew why, a box of expired coconut cookies that I had no memory of buying.

“That's what I get for not staying over for months and not checking the drawer… and for Lev not telling me in advance, that dumbass,” I grumbled, looking around for the blouse I wore the previous day. There were only my underwear and socks in the small bag I left next to the wardrobe.

Kōshi entered the room, glancing at me with slight confusion.

“Aren't you going in?”

“I don't have a change of clothes,” I mumbled. “I mean, I need to find my yesterday's blouse. I didn't refill the drawers since I stayed the last time.” I scowled. “I left the clothes right here, but…”

Grim realisation dawned on me and I darted to the cat room.

“Aaaargh, great…” I whined, plastering my palm to my forehead.

Another result of having a huge break was forgetting about Sneezer's habit of hoarding anything he fancied, and then marking it. Sneezer was the smallest cat in the café batch, a breed so mixed that one of his ancestors could have been a monkey, but his size was balanced by his very Tsukishima-like personality.

And of all times and things he could do, he decided to drag my blouse to the cat room.

And pee on it.

I hid my face in my hands with a groan.

“What is it? Oh.” Kōshi followed after me and glanced over my shoulder. “That's… your blouse, isn't it.”

“Yeah.”

The cogs in my brain were working on top gear, trying to find a solution. There were five more drawers in the wardrobe. Kuroo's, Kenma's, Lev's, and Yaku's. I was sure that there was nothing in the two latter's drawer that I could use — they never bothered bringing a change of shirts, opting to only keep pyjamas, underwear, and socks in there, and spare trousers. Kenma's taste in fashion was very nice, but nowhere near anything I'd wear to work, and I would simply drown in Kuroo's clothes. I sighed.

“Looks like I'll have to put my coat on and make a fast trip to my flat,” I mused with a pout, picking up my blouse between my index finger and my thumb to dump it into the bag with my used socks and knickers.

“You can wear mine,” Kōshi said tentatively, averting his gaze. “I mean, my yesterday's shirt isn't smelly or anything, so I can wear it today yet, and I can give you the one I brought for the change… I mean… it's below zero outside, and your immunity might be still lower so soon after you had that cold, and you could get sick again, and…”

_Let's see._

_Waste 20 minutes on getting to my flat and back here in this crappy weather, or get to wear his shirt for an entire day._

“Is that really all right?” I asked.

“Of course!” Kōshi grinned.

“I'll wash it and give it back, don't worry,” I added quickly.

_After it stops smelling like him, that is._

_… that sounded damn creepy._

* * *

Lev noticed. Obviously. He barely walked into the café and took off his jacket, peeked at me once, and that was enough. His eyes grew wider and filled with happy sparks when he noted the plum shirt I wore. Out of all shirts Kōshi could've brought, it just had to be the one I was melting about to Lev the morning after the engagement party.

Lev's glances were switching between me and Kōshi and a huge grin appeared on his face.

“Ooooh?” He pulled off his beanie, messing up his hair. “Did you have a good night?”

“Absolutely!” Kōshi replied with a smile before I could put my brain to work. I gazed at him from the corner of my eye and saw a hint of blush on his cheeks. My ears warmed up.

_Lev is going to go wild with his Possible Scenarios now. Somebody help me._

“Good to hear.” Lev beamed at me and headed to the back room.

I gently elbowed Kōshi in the ribs.

“Now there will be no end of it from him,” I muttered.

Kōshi wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leaned in, and kissed the top of my head.

“Don't mind.”

I smiled, averting my gaze.

“I don't.”

 

I had always loved working in the café and enjoyed every aspect of it; the atmosphere, the friends I worked with, the customers, preparing the orders, baking, and taking care of the cats — even cleaning up after a long day. Sure enough, though, it all fell into a steady, comfortable routine and lost some of its enthusiastic charm after a while.

Once Kōshi joined the crew, however, that little spark came back. Everything was brighter and warmer and I was all tingly on the inside whenever I looked at him.

Bottom line: I had come to love my work twice as much as before.

It was no surprise that Lev shared his findings with everyone. First was Kenma, who dragged himself in, wrapped in so many sweaters under a coat that he looked three times his size. Kenma smiled.

Then there was Yamaguchi, who slapped a cheerful double high-five with Lev and gave a toothy grin to both Kōshi and me.

Atsushi wasn't spared either. He decided it was a good reason to order two more plum cakes in celebration — one for me, one for Kōshi (but Atsushi of course ate both). No one bothered to point out that he would order those anyway, it was the fact that he had said it that counted in the end, no matter that it was still in his monotonous, seemingly bored drawl.

Yaku stopped by during his lunch break and listened to the news with a growing smile and showed thumbs-up before he collected some pistachio cake and his thermos filled with fresh coffee and left.

Kuroo squeezed my soul out of me in a bone-crushing hug with a jump float serve intensity, and then did the same to Kōshi, judging by the latter's expression.

“Now you won't be able to sing _All the single ladies_ off-key in shower any more,” Kuroo remarked in a mock shaky voice, wiping an imaginary tear below his eye. I kicked his calf.

“I don't do that,” I grumbled. My ears were red.

“She does,” Lev, Yamaguchi, Kenma, and Kuroo said at the same time.

_Stinky traitors._

“Sugawara used to sing _Love hime_ and _I'm walking on sunshine_ in shower after practise. 500 yen that he still does.”

I snapped my head towards the entrance, where Tsukishima was taking off his jacket, not even bothering to look towards us in his majesty.

“More like _he's_ the sunshine,” Yamaguchi mumbled so quietly that I was probably the only one to notice it and the wink he gave me only confirmed that I was the target to hear the comment.

Two seconds of silence.

Kōshi's entire face radiated bright pink.

“You are the chosen ones.” Lev approached us and put his left hand on Kōshi's shoulder, and his right hand on mine. “You have my blessing.”

Kōshi's chuckle carried a good hint of embarrassment and I hid my red face in my hands, praying for peace of mind.

But at the end of the day, I could say without hesitation that I truly loved every and each of those parts of working at the café and I wouldn't switch it for anything.

* * *

I jumped off the bus, humming _I'm walking on sunshine_ as I crossed the street and dug through my bag for the keys.

“Ooh, good evening, little missy!”

I bit my lips before I brought up a nice smile and turned around.

“Good evening, Mrs. Yamada!”

Mrs. Yamada, the legendary almost-deaf, 70-years-old gossip centre of the area, hobbled towards me, keys already in hand. She opened the main door and I bowed in thanks as I held it to let her in first, and then I took her shopping bag to help carry it upstairs. She smiled at me warmly, puffing out her wrinkled cheeks.

“It's so good to see that you finally have a boyfriend, I was worried you would stay an unmarried hag, little missy. You are so late already! When I was your age…”

I listened idly, nodding from time to time and making sure I kept my smile and trying not to say too much. Even though I moved into this flat only a couple of months ago, Mrs. Yamada probably already had a full file about me stashed somewhere in her head and I didn't feel like adding more details to it.

“And when are you going to invite your fiancé again?” she inquired, taking the bag from me after she opened the door to her flat. Her sausage dog immediately crawled out to sniff my legs and waggle his tail. “He is such a lovely boy, I had a good time talking with him the other day, what a sweet and handsome young man!”

“I haven't invited him yet, Mrs. Yamada.” I laughed as heartily as I could, trying to ignore how she promoted "the boyfriend" to "the fiancé" in 30 seconds. “That must have been Lev, but we are best friends, not a couple. He's in a relationship of his own.”

“Lev, you say? Lev, hmm…” Mrs. Yamada frowned, most likely writing in another point to an imaginary file with my name on it, but then she winked and patted my cheek. “Well, you better show your fiancé to me soon, I need to meet him!”

“I'll remember about it.” I grinned. “Good night, Mrs. Yamada!”

I hope she didn't distribute her suspicions that Lev is my boyfriend around, as much as funny it sounds, I mused as I was pulling off my boots. Though knowing her, she probably didn't, she likes having more material for support beforehand.

I took off my coat and closed my eyes with a small smile when the smell of Kōshi's shirt reached my nose. I still lived off the hug he had given me before I had gotten on the bus after work. Tanaka called me earlier in the afternoon to inform me that Tsukki would be good to return home on the following Monday, so I didn't mind his absence as much as I did the whole past week, but it still was somewhat lonely and blue without his meows and rubbing my calves.

I put on the kettle and rummaged through the fridge in search of some snack.

My phone buzzed in my bag and I paused to get it.

[06:47 pm] Suga: I completely forgot!  
[06:47 pm] Suga: What are we doing tomorrow? What movie? :)

I pursed my lips and before replying, I did a little tweak with his contact listing. I sat down at the kitchen table and typed out a reply.

[06:48 pm] me: I'm not sure what's in the cinema these days.  
[06:48 pm] me: You can pick something, I trust your taste. :)  
[06:48 pm] Kōshi: All right, I hope it won't be off. ^^;

I nodded contently at the new name display.

[06:48 pm] me: I'm sure it will be, all these movies we watched yesterday were really good. ♡  
[06:48 pm] Kōshi: You are making me blush again. ^^;  
[06:49 pm] me: But that looks so nice on you!  
[06:49 pm] Kōshi: Stooooooop! :')  
[06:49 pm] me: Make me.

I sent the text before it made it through any filters in my brain and once it went off, it was too late. My jaw dropped open and I slapped my palm to cover my eyes. It wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary had I sent it to Lev, but in this case…

“What is it with me today?” I whined, getting up to make tea and put Chinese leftovers from Tuesday in the microwave. There was no immediate answer from Kōshi and I felt anxiety creeping up my spine.

[06:52 pm] Kōshi: This… maybe later.  
[06:52 pm] Kōshi: ♡

My mouth formed a perfect “O”.

_Is this going in the direction I think it does…?_

I bit my lips and slowly spelled out a reply.

[06:54 pm] me: Oh, interesting. Really? How?  
[06:54 pm] Kōshi: There are some ways. Interesting, yes.  
[06:54 pm] me: Like what?

I subconsciously brought my knuckles to my lips.

[06:55 pm] Kōshi: That depends on what you like… hmm.

The memory of his dazed face from the previous evening and my dream from the night after the party mixed into one and I had to blink a couple of times to bring myself back into the reality.

The microwave beeped to announce the dinner was warmed up and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I got up with a sigh and took the plate out.

[06:55 pm] me: Why don't you give it a try?  
[06:55 pm] me: I'm curious…  
[06:55 pm] Kōshi: It's rather difficult without being present there in person.  
[06:56 pm] Kōshi: It doesn't involve talking much.

I remembered my thought from last night that he seemed angelic and made a correction.

“Always the quiet ones,” I murmured, picking up the chopsticks.

[06:57 pm] me: I'm getting an inkling here.  
[06:57 pm] me: But I'm still not entirely sure what you mean…  
[06:57 pm] me: Care to elaborate?

I pressed the “send” key without looking at the screen, maybe convinced that if I didn't see it, it wouldn't go through. I raised another bit of Chinese to my mouth when I got a new message, and I opened it when I was still chewing.

I choked.

I slammed my fist to my chest several times, feeling tears gathering in my eyes, until the lump dislodged and I was able to breathe. My throat felt irritated and scratchy.

[06:58 pm] Kōshi: It doesn't involve clothes much either.  
[06:58 pm] me: I don't think that would work well to shut me up.  
[06:58 pm] Kōshi: Nowhere here was said anything about keeping you quiet. :)

I frowned and scrolled back through the messages.

[06:59 pm] me: You are right.  
[06:59 pm] me: Damn, you got me here.

I blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath.

“I feel weird,” I mumbled to my plate.

[06:59 pm] Kōshi: I got you?  
[06:59 pm] me: Mhmmmm. Quite so.  
[07:00 pm] Kōshi: You got me, too.

My phone rang and I almost choked again.

“He— hello?” I uttered.

“Hi.” I could hear the smile in Kōshi's voice. “How about a movie at 7:20 tomorrow?”

“Sounds good,” I said, fighting to control my voice. “Where do we meet? Which cinema?”

“The one close to Kuroo and Kenma's flat, is that all right? We could meet somewhere around there.”

“All fine!” I nodded even though he couldn't see it. “20 minutes before it starts?”

“Sure. And…” Kōshi trailed off. He cleared his throat. “About, um… I wasn't too forward, was I? It's early, and I mean, uh…”

“No, I think it was nice,” I murmured, and then I gulped. “I wouldn't mind… again… more…?”

I could hear when he let out a withheld breath.

“Well, if that's the case…” he began quietly, “… then there's more where it came from.”

Silence.

I couldn't stop a little snort from escaping me and in a moment we were both laughing, partly because it seemed so weird and funny to talk like this, but mostly, once again, to unload the heavy tension that suddenly thickened the air.

“See you tomorrow, then?” he asked with giggles still ringing in his voice.

“Yeah, I can't wait. Good night!”

“Sleep well.”

* * *

Perhaps I was tired after so much excitement and emotions of the previous day and the evening before it. Perhaps it was still the aftermath of my cold, or maybe not enough coffee. Either way, I overslept.

My alarm clock was beeping like mad when I came to consciousness, pulling a stupid face to force my eyes open.

“Aaaaaaargh…” I whined, planting my face into the pillow.

07:57 am.

I slapped the back of my head and got to my feet, wobbling around like a puppet with strings set too loose, and darted to the bathroom.

“Food for Tsukki…” I mumbled with my toothbrush in my mouth, stumbling outside to the kitchen. “No, Tsukki's not here… uhhh…” I pivoted and hobbled back to the bathroom.

08:02 am.

“Crap, crap, crap,” I hissed over and over, running a comb through my hair. “Crap, crap, shit, god dammit…”

It was 8:14 when I locked my flat and skipped three steps at once to exit the building.

“Ooh, so late, little missy?”

“Yes, Mrs. Yamada, good morning, Mrs. Yamada, I'm sorry, I'm—”

“I wanted to ask you about your boyfriend from yesterday, mi—”

“I'm sorry, Mrs. Yamada, I'm really sorry, I'm late already! I promise I'll drop by after work! Excuse me!”

The bus was just arriving at the stop when I jumped outside and ran across the street to get inside.

I huffed, bending forward to catch my breath. There was no chance to find a seat at this hour, so I resigned to pressing myself to a window. Once I reached a satisfying level of stability under my legs, I pulled out my phone.

[08:15 am] me: I overslept  
[08:16 am] me: I'm on the bus rn  
[08:16 am] me: Uuuuuugh  
[08:16 am] me: What the hell is going on with me lately  
[08:16 am] Lev: Sugar you're in looooove!!! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧  
[08:16 am] Lev: Yams and I have a new nickname for you now!!! (｡◝‿◜｡)  
[08:17 am] me: Shut your trap  
[08:17 am] Lev: Sugar and Suga sittin in a tree… (◡‿◡✿)  
[08:17 am] Lev: K!  
[08:18 am] Lev: I!  
[08:18 am] Lev: S!  
[08:18 am] me: I'll have Atsushi crush you both (ಠ⌣ಠ)

I walked into the café at 8:27, red and panting.

“I told you not to run.” Lev slapped the back of my head after I took off my hat. “You'll get sick all over again!”

“Nice to see you, too.” I rolled my eyes.

“Suga is late, too,” Lev said, shaking his head at me. “Tanaka locked himself in the bathroom and neither can open the door.”

I snorted. Lev cackled in such tone that I knew immediately that he already had had a great laugh about it earlier. He headed to the kitchen while I removed my jacket and picked my apron from the back room.

“So.” Lev peeked through the glass into the huge oven to check up on whatever was baking inside. “You haven't told me yet how did your evening go.” He shot me a meaningful look, wiggling his eyebrows. “Did my plan work out? You were wearing his shirt. Ohohooo?”

He was still hunching by the oven and I snatched the opportunity to grab his hair and mess it up.

“Please don't go all Bokuto on me. You are enough madness to deal with even without that,” I groaned, but then I giggled, in reality eager to tell the story. “Okay, well, so first we ended up dancing in—”

The little bell by the entrance rang and I was temporarily saved by a slightly dishevelled and winded Kōshi himself.

* * *

I left work earlier to get home calmly (more or less, given the situation), and prepare myself without a rush.

“All right. I have one and a half hour. Take it easy.”

I slapped my left fist into my open right hand to boost my spirit, and I marched into the bedroom.

“Clothes.”

I opened my wardrobe and I paused. I frowned.

“What if I end up inviting him over?”

I glanced over my shoulder. A combination of my recent cold and worrying over Tsukki had left its mark on my flat. My room wasn't exactly a mess, but it was nowhere near an organised, tidy space either. There were some dirty dishes in the sink in the kitchen, and my bathroom definitely needed a good cleaning. I pursed my lips.

“Will I manage in half an hour?” I asked the mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door.

I managed in 40 minutes.

“Okay, okay, it's fine,” I kept muttering like a broken record, digging through my underwear. “It's still… um… 50 minutes left. That's enough to get ready, that is enough… Should I wear something plain, or… hmm, if we did end up in my flat, would we…” I squinted my eyes to examine some knickers that got my attention. “Would… we…” I mumbled slowly, not entirely consciously. “45 minutes… I should have bought… con… do… no… I don't know… size… hmm, those wouldn't be bad, would they… OH CRAP.”

_I HAVE TO ACTUALLY GET THERE._

I had to remove good 15 minutes from my spare time to account for the transport.

“Half an hour, oh my god, oh crap, I'm fried… shower shower shower shower… Whyyyy didn't I clean up yesterday, _whyyyy_ …?!”

I took off my clothes in 0.3 and ran to wash myself.

“What the hell is it with me…”

Drying my hair, dressing up, along with all the other preparations were done so fast that I passed my own expectations and only regretted that I hadn't set a timer to know how quickly I exactly went through with it.

Mrs. Yamada clearly had no luck either.

“Little missy, can we talk now? About your boyfriend Lev—” she asked with an inviting, warm smile, the kind that a mouse trap would probably show if it only could.

“I'm sorry, Mrs. Yamada, I'm in a hurry, Lev is not my boyfriend—” I ran downstairs past her, stopping only to perform a quick bow.

“But I didn't I talk to your boyfriend on Friday?” she called after me.

“I don't think so! I'm really really sorry, Mrs. Yamada, I have to go, I have a date!”

“I hope we'll talk later, little missy!”

“Me too! See you later, Mrs. Yamada!”

The main door slammed on its own behind me and I dashed to wait for bus number 208, and once I got to the stop, I tapped my foot nervously, straining my neck to notice the bus as soon as possible, as if it could make it go faster.

I frowned once Mrs. Yamada's statement finally reached my mind.

“She said she had talked to Lev on _Friday_?” I smoothed my jacket, searching for any stray hair (like it wasn't covered in Tsukki's fur already). “But it was last Saturday… Lev talked to her on a Saturday…”

I shrugged. A 70-years-old, almost-deaf woman had her rights to some holes in her memory.

The bus eventually arrived and I scrambled inside, willing myself not to attempt fixing my hair, which would end up in messing it up rather than with making it better.

The digital clock above the driver showed 06:51 pm in red, angular numbers.

_It won't be too bad if I get there a minute or two late, right?_

I nibbled at my lower lip, running my eyes around the other passengers.

_Did I take all the things I needed?_

I opened my bag to make a quick scan.

_Bus ticket, check. Wallet, check. Comb, check. Keys, check. Chapstick, check. Tissues, check. ID, check._

_Phone._

_I forgot my phone._

I closed my eyes and sighed.

_Well, it's not like I'm gonna need it once we meet up. I hope._

* * *

I saw Kōshi from afar. Thanks to his hair it was easy to discern him from among the other people crowding around, or perhaps I intuitively knew where to look. He was turned away from the direction I was coming from, hands in the pockets of his parka, clearly oblivious to my presence, and I took my sweet time watching his expectant expression and the foggy puffs of breath that were carried away with the barely noticeable wind. The colourful, changing lights from the cinema were pooling around the place, turning the tone of his hair every now and then.

He noticed me and smiled, and my heart immediately hammered against my ribs. I waved and sped up my steps.

“Hi.” I glanced up at him when he took my hand and pressed his lips to my knuckles.

“Hello,” he replied. “You look lovely.”

I smiled lopsidedly and glanced away.

“Thanks. I tried.”

“Now that's unbelievable.” Kōshi tilted his head. “You are a natural. You look cute even with that wild bedhead.”

“Oooh?” I raised my eyebrows, ignoring the unmistakable warmth that crawled up my cheeks. “ _My_ bedhead is wild? Like you're the one to talk.”

We stared at each other and burst out laughing.

“I have to agree, you look way better with yours,” Kōshi admitted. “Also, I should mention-”

“It's you? Good evening!”

We turned our heads and sure, there he was, Masasumi waved — somehow I felt like more at me than the both of us — and walked over. His friend Ishi trailed right behind him.

“Are you going to see _Star Trek_ , too?” Masasumi grinned. Ishi glared at him, then glared at Kōshi, and then quietly nodded at me.

“No, it's something else.” Kōshi smiled politely, but in a way that clearly indicated he'd rather move on from the conversation.

“Ah, you should give it a chance some time. Have fun!” Masasumi winked, bowed, and left.

I closed my eyes and let out a slightly annoyed sigh.

_He either is utterly hopeless at reading a situation or it's quite the contrary and he's a little shit._

“Mm, Kōshi?”

“Yes?” He glanced down to me, his face back to the warm, tender tone.

“You were going to say something earlier?”

“Oh…” He frowned and pursed his lips. “I… um…” He chuckled awkwardly. “I forgot what it was. I've lost my track.” He scratched the back of his head. “Shall we go? We still need to get the tickets.”

I nodded, opting to smoothly snake my hand to hook it at his elbow. I noticed a little smile once he figured out my move, and he scooped my hand to entwine our fingers instead.

“Sure it's sad that I won't be able to play with the folks back at Miyagi as often as I used to,” he said when I asked about volleyball while we stood in the queue. “But it's going to be nice to get together again with guys here as well.” He snickered lightly. “Back in high school, a captain of one rival team from another school used to call me Mr. Refreshing… I wonder now whether I'll be called something similar here.”

 _You sure lived up to that nickname in my case_ , I thought.

“That would be cute,” I said instead with a smirk. “Maybe I should hint it to Lev the next time I see him.”

“… and you'd end up making me blush again. By proxy even. Now that's admirably clever.” Kōshi gave me an amused side-glance.

I remembered the previous time he mentioned me making him blush and I bit my lips.

We got the tickets and walked away to find a place to sit down. I picked a leaflet with information about the movie we were going to see and ran my eyes over it.

“ _The Tale of Princess Kaguya_ ,” I read out loud. “From Studio Ghibli.”

“It was actually released quite some time ago already, but it seems this cinema decided to make one more airing. It's a beautiful animation, the story is fantastic, and the visuals were drawn spectacularly, very much unlike the rest of Ghibli productions. I hope you will like it.” Kōshi smiled sweetly.

“I'm pretty sure I will.” I grinned as well and folded the paper to stash it into my bag — the pictures on it were very pretty, after all.

I hissed when a sharp sting radiated from my index finger.

“What is it?”

“I got a paper cut,” I muttered, rolling my eyes, putting the leaflet next to my wallet. “I'm genius.”

“Let me see,” Kōshi requested gently and I let him carefully touch and raise my fingers for examination. He frowned worriedly. “Aah, it's bleeding, does it hurt?”

“Not much.” I gave him a lopsided smile.

“May I?”

“Hm?” I peeked at him, not quite sure what he meant, but figuring he'd most likely kiss it better. “Yeah.”

Yes, he did bring my finger to his lips. Instead of simply smooching it, however, he pressed his lips to its pad and I definitely felt his tongue running over the cut. Heat spread around my entire face, reaching as far as to my neck and ears, and… and I nearly stopped breathing when he lightly sucked at the injury.

Kōshi blinked, his eyes suddenly widened and he released my finger. His cheeks flooded red.

“Sorry, I… think… I mean, I got carried away, sorry—” he stammered. He held my hand in both of his and rested them on his lap.

“It was good,” I mumbled so quietly that I thought he didn't hear it, but seeing his blush darkening significantly as he peered at me spoke otherwise.

The tension that filled the air was close to suffocating.

_I suspect I am going to invite him over. Oh hot damn._

We let out a deep breath at the same time and, without any need for verbal consultation, continued talking about each other's interests until the time came to get up and take our seats in the screening room.

* * *

We maintained the same cautious, relaxed-but-not-quite attitude throughout the movie and later, when we went to get some ramen (Kōshi ordered the spiciest, absolutely terrifying option in the whole menu), eagerly learning new things about one another. I listened about Kōshi's school days and volleyball, and a bit about basketball — when he mentioned with a little scowl how he felt ridiculous and useless with his height next to other giants he, Sawamura, and Tanaka sometimes played with, I could lift his spirits with my own story about one of Atsushi's friends, who was a brilliant basketball player despite his poor physical conditions. I also discovered that Kōshi had a vast knowledge when it came to folklore, myths, and faery tales from pretty much any part of the world, and I had an opportunity to listen to a couple of his favourites.

Time was passing way too fast in my opinion.

“Did you enjoy this evening?” he asked when we strolled through a brightly lit park towards the bus stop. We were holding hands and swinging them a little back and forth.

“Very much,” I said, turning my head to smile up at him. 

Kōshi reciprocated the smile and squeezed my hand before he started stroking my palm with his thumb.

“How about…” I spoke up, looking ahead. “How about we grab a coffee tomorrow? Lev and Yaku are going to do some weird accounting stuff at the café, so we have the day off.”

“Sounds great to me.” Kōshi hummed thoughtfully. “Do you like ice-skating?”

“I haven't done that in ages.” I snorted. “But I guess it was fun. Apart from when I would land on my ass.”

“I that so? Well. There is an ice rink down my street, they opened for season yesterday. I thought it would be worth checking it out? It's more fun to land on your butt in company.” Kōshi shook with silent laugh.

“If you put it that way, then I'd love to,” I replied, grinning.

Kōshi halted and glanced around. At such late hour, the park was deserted, without a single person in proximity.

“Did something happen?” I asked with a frown.

“Not at all,” he said immediately. “Um…” 

He stepped in front of me and scooped both of my hands to hold them in both of his. There was a beautiful rosy blush on his cheeks, not the kind one could get because of cold weather, and he was looking down to me with a warm smile.

“I just wanted to say…” He gulped. “I'm happy I met you. It means really a lot to me. I…” He paused. “You didn't know this, but I haven't… been well for a long, long time, and…” He took a deep breath. “And now… I feel much better now. Thanks to you. Even though so little time has passed since we met. So far.” He leaned closer. “So… thank you.”

My eyes closed and I tilted my head before our lips slowly brushed against each other before pressing together, chapped but still so delightfully soft.

_Maybe that's why he's so good at sensing when someone is depressed._

My throat momentarily clenched at the thought and I let go of Kōshi's hands to brush my fingers into his hair at the back of his head and pull him closer, kissing him all the more urgently. Kōshi shuddered and trailed his hands around me, one resting at the small of my back, and the other at my shoulder blades. The tension that had been building up since before the movie was lightly seeping through as we rocked slightly from side to side, sometimes gasping into each other's mouths and swallowing each other's breaths, fingers clenching and unclenching, digging into the skin, and for a while we both forgot that even though it was so late and no one was around, we were still in public, and it was still cold, and, well, we still needed to breathe.

Our lips pulled away from each other and had I been able to make any sound, I would've perhaps giggled at that faint line of saliva linking us that broke soon after. Instead, I inhaled deeply, staring into Kōshi's glimmering eyes. He gave me a smile that made his signature bone-melting one pale in comparison and gently pecked my lips one more time.

I rested my head on his shoulder and we stood in the middle of the path for a long while, simply hugging without a word, calming our breaths and enjoying the closeness.

“Any time,” I murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *It was about time I dropped a [Yowapeda reference](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wbgPuOzgZc).  
> *Please do watch The Tale of Princess Kaguya. You won't regret it.  
> *On a side note, have you seen Haikyuu Stage Play? Because [Hiroki is the best Suga out there](https://aetteru.tumblr.com/post/162715716740/kagayam-a-look-at-me-in-the-eye-and-tell-me) and his cheekbones and his eyes and just his everything are turning my knees to jelly.  
> *I don't know if that's the case in your region, but in my prefecture, some cinemas do additional screenings of movies that were released even months earlier (it's not the same as showing themed movies every Saturday as some sort of program). This way I've watched plenty of things that I had missed when they first aired.  
> *I have to admit I am basing Mrs. Yamada on my own neighbour. Fear that woman. She knows everything.
> 
> Please let me know what you think, I'm so happy to read your comments! ♡♡


	5. Blood on the clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things just can't go too well sometimes, whether it be those not so important or the really heavy ones, and Lev gets a fair share of the latter. It also appears that a certain cousin unexpectedly comes home…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back. (︶ω︶) I am back and I bring this chapter in consolation. Stuff happens in it. _This kind_ of stuff. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )

I sighed and ran my hand through my already tousled hair. The hour was late, so I tried to make as little noise as possible while climbing the stairs to my flat, but I couldn't help humming “Walking on sunshine”, which had no will to leave my mind once it had stuck to it. The feel of the good-night kiss we shared at my doorstep still lingered on my lips, tingling and as warm as the hug that accompanied it.

I twirled the loop of my keys on my index finger and flinched at the loud clinking, once again reminding myself to stay quiet, especially because I was just passing Mrs. Yamada's door.

Apparently I screwed up, judging by how her sausage dog started howling and he wouldn't shut up even when I was taking my shoes off in my entryway, with my own door closed and locked behind me. I hoped she would not guess whose fault that was (getting on her bad side was dangerous).

“… huh?” I paused when I was about to hang my jacket.

My phone was ringing.

I hurried to where the source was coming from, but the tune cut out before I managed to pick up. The phone was laying on the floor by the bed, between some of the clothes I had rejected as unfit for the occasion.

 _No wonder I forgot about it if it was laying hidden like this_ , I thought, grabbing the phone.

5 unread messages. 3 missed calls. From Lev.

“He knew I would be on a date…” I narrowed my eyes. “He's not the type to bug in, unlike _some_ …”

_Something happened._

I gulped and dialled his number.

“Can— can you talk?”

“Lev?” My heart stopped at the sound of his voice. It was scraped raw and humid. “Why are you crying? What happened?”

“This is… so… fu… fucked up…”

_He's swearing._

My stomach twisted into a tight knot.

“A— are you home? Can I— can I come over? I just can't— I need to— I'm sorry—”

“You've got ten minutes to get your ass here,” I said quietly.

“Uhuh.”

He hung up.

I ran to the kitchen to set the kettle on, and then back to the bedroom to change into my pyjamas and robe. I picked up the phone and read the 5 messages I had received when I had been out.

[08:57 pm] Lev: I'm sorry to disturb you  
[08:57 pm] Lev: We are fucked  
[08:57 pm] Lev: Mori's parents found out about us

I pressed my fist to my lips.

[08:59 pm] Lev: Oh god this is fucking hell  
[09:12 pm] Lev: I'm getting him out of here

I put the phone down and dug my fingers into my temples, resting my elbows on the tabletop.

“Shit.”

I stood up, unable to sit still, and paced the kitchen, wishing I had Tsukki to cuddle with — or, yeah, Kōshi. I closed my eyes for a moment, pondering whether I should call him, but my thoughts were interrupted by the whistling kettle.

_No, that's too early for this kind of situation._

_But how I wish._

I made a whole huge pot of tea and pulled out two teacups, but on a second thought, I added one more.

Just as I had expected, Lev brought Yaku with him. I stepped aside to let them in.

Lev was sniffling, nearly carrying Yaku, who was clearly very much drunk, although unusually quiet compared to what a loud type of drunk he could get. He was pale with a green tint to it, save for an angry red hand-print on his left cheek, but unlike Lev, he showed not a single sign of whether he had been crying or not.

“I'm gonna be sick,” Yaku mumbled, bringing his hand up to clasp it over his mouth.

“Bathroom,” I said, surprising myself how calm it came out.

We somehow managed to get him out of his coat and boots before he turned completely green and bent forward over the toilet. I left to bring a glass of water from the kitchen while Lev held Yaku's shoulders to keep him stable.

Yaku was out cold after less than ten minutes, tucked in blankets and under the winter duvet on my bed, snoring lightly.

“They came to my— to our house,” Lev said quietly, watching Yaku from where he sat at the edge of the bed. I was standing at the threshold, leaning against the door frame.

“Let's go to the kitchen,” I murmured, beckoning him with my finger. “Close the door, he needs some peace and quiet.”

Lev nodded and followed after me.

“Mori answered the doorbell,” Lev trudged on, wrapping his long fingers around the teacup. “And she… Mrs. Yaku… hit him right away. I heard that from the study room, it was loud.” He took a sip and bit his lips. “The shit they were shouting at us… never mind me, but how the fuck can they talk like that to their own son?!”

“Keep it down,” I said. “You'll wake him up.”

Dealing with Lev came in two basic steps, which could have their own sub-stages, depending on the situation.

The first step was: _let him get it all out._

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I just… “ He inhaled deeply. “How can parents treat their own child like this? Call this fucking kind of names?”

The second step was: _do what you can to make it better_.

“Why are people like this?” he asked thinly. His eyes were shining and he looked away, biting his lips again. “Why does it fucking bother them so much?” A tear ran down his cheek.

“People are stupid, Lev.” I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him in for a hug.

“Who fucking cares if it's a man and a woman, or two guys, or two girls, or— who the hell—” He choked on his sob. “Why the hell— the fuck do they care? Someone else's relationships are none of— none of— none of their fucking business, what is—”

He gritted his teeth and hid his face in my shoulder. His whole body was shaking.

“Why the hell does this bother anyone? What's the— what the fuck is their deal?” he rasped. “No one is forcing anyone into anything, no one makes them change their own relationships for anything, it doesn't concern them, what the fuck is wrong with those people? What— what do— do they even fucking gain by hating us so fucking much?” He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his face closer into my shoulder. The fabric of my robe was all soaked in that spot.

“Why are people like this…?” he repeated weakly. “What's wrong with us?”

“There's nothing wrong with you,” I said quietly, running my fingers through his hair while the last bits of his strength were being torn apart with every sob. “The only actual wrong there is, is on those people, not you.”

I wanted to leave. I wanted to leave, to find Yaku's parents, find every single person that ever hurt Lev and him, and just… do something. Thing was, the only action I could take right then was to hold Lev and try cheer him up.

“That sausage dog from hell is still howling, can't it just shut up?” he muttered. 

He eventually calmed down, somehow ending up with his head on my lap and his arms wrapped around my waist. There was something undoubtedly catlike about him — more than usual — in his expression, the closed slanted eyes and furrowed eyebrows, when I gently stroked his messed up hair. Lev sighed and rubbed his swollen eyelids with one hand.

“How was your date?” he croaked. “You didn't stop it because of my calls, right? Sorry I—”

“I didn't,” I said immediately. “I forgot my phone, I left it in the bedroom. Otherwise, I guess… I only saw you called me after I came home.”

Lev wiggled onto his back and stared up at me with his bloodshot eyes and a faint ghost of a smile.

“So how was it?”

I couldn't help the huge grin that spread my lips and lightened up my entire face.

“Perfect. It was perfect.”

It was as if Lev came back to life when he warmly smiled back at me.

“You've got it so bad, Sugar,” he remarked, receiving a mocked poke to his head from me for the nickname. “I want to know all the details.”

“Well, so—” I started, but then immediately trailed off when I heard sirens approaching and then stopping very close outside.

We listened to a noise that was definitely coming from the stairway. Lev sat up and frowned, looking at the door. We exchanged glances.

“Ambulance?”

I suddenly wondered if maybe Mrs. Yamada's sausage dog wasn't howling for a good hour and a half because he had been annoyed by my jingling keys after all.

* * *

“Apparently she slipped in the kitchen,” I said, kneading dough for plum cake base. “Her great-grand niece told Mrs. Sakusa there was a broken bottle and a puddle of sesame oil on the floor, and that's where she was found.” I sighed. “I can't believe it… I mean, she was really old, but still.”

Yamaguchi nodded and patted my shoulder.

“Cheer up.” He put on new gloves and started cutting plums in halves. “Here, laugh at this: when you had your fun first date, I had the dubious joy of spending a whole Friday evening sitting at Pizza Hut with Tsukki… right next to a table with Masasumi and whoever he was talking to. He absolutely spoiled Star Trek to me, every single detail, and I was so looking forward to watching it.”

“But you always look up spoilers anyway,” I pointed out with a raised eyebrow. 

“And then he noticed us,” Yamaguchi groaned. He lost focus and a single plum slipped from his grip and fell to the floor with a wet plop. “Dammit.” He leaned down and skipped to wash it. “That was the worst. He wouldn't shut up and was constantly trying to talk about you and Su—”

The kitchen door creaked.

“Cashew cake, double hot chocolate without cream, and 12 gingerbread cookies for Murasakibara!”

I lifted my head and smiled.

“No notepads needed any more?” I asked, wrapping the dough in foil and walking over to the freezer. Kōshi opened the door for me and then closed them after I placed the dough inside to cool it down. 

I leaned my side on the cold surface, looking up at him teasingly. Kōshi narrowed his eyelids in amusement and smirked. That was a different smirk from the ones he showed before — the first time I saw it over a week earlier, when I fell onto my ass at the ice rink.

It would be an outrageous lie if I said that smirk did nothing to me.

“He mostly orders the same things, with some little extras. He's not that difficult to figure out, after all.” Kōshi shrugged, leaning on the same door as well.

Yamaguchi tactfully pretended that his existence was not happening in the kitchen at that moment. I pulled off my gloves and ran my hand through Kōshi's hair with a little pout.

“Your bedhead is so stubborn today.” I laughed and he played a scowl for a second before chuckling as well and grazing my own hair out of spite. “And about Murasakibara, you'd be surprised.” I glanced at the ceiling for a moment. “Right now, I'd guess he's the most intelligent person in some good five kilometres radius at the very least. His best subject at school was _physics_.”

“He behaves pretty dumb, though.” Kuroo entered the kitchen through the door leading to the alley behind the building. “And I'm fairly sure he's got a bunch of screws loose as well. And there's something _sadistic_ about him.” He made a funny face. “But if I were as lazy as him, I would pretend I'm stupid, too. Just anything to get people off my ass.” He grinned, taking in how little personal space there was between Kōshi and me. “Enjoying your break?”

Kōshi tilted a little to look at Kuroo over my shoulder.

“Sure we do.”

Yamaguchi coughed meaningfully.

“I need a word, Kuroo.” He took off his gloves and stepped outside, fishing out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. Kuroo wiggled his eyebrows and followed after him.

Kōshi sighed and leaned forward to touch my forehead with his.

“Back to work,” he mumbled against my lips.

“Mhmm,” I murmured right back at him before I pressed a little kiss to the corner of his mouth, but then I pulled back and sighed, too. “Yeah, back to work.”

Kōshi blinked three times before he apparently registered what had just happened. Then he blushed, but he sure as hell was not embarrassed, judging by how he wrapped one hand around my waist and closed the space between us again, capturing my lips in reply, moving slowly and gently for a while lasting long enough to make me close my eyes with a tiny hum and my mind float away from my whereabouts until he inched back and sighed.

I had no idea when his hand ended up on my cheek. He stroked my skin with his thumb and opened his eyes with a small smile.

“Back to work, really this time,” he whispered. “Or we end up saying it over and over and not moving from the spot for ages.”

I grinned and straightened up. Kōshi turned to put Murasakibara's order together while I went to finish preparing Yamaguchi's plums.

“We'll have plenty of time later anyway,” I remarked, cutting into another fruit. He was put into keeping watch over the cats for the night and _by pure accident_ I offered to keep him company. It somehow just happened. Unexpectedly. Who knew. “What movies did you bring this time?”

“That's classified.” Kōshi stuck out his tongue at me. He poured hot chocolate into a double-sized mug and dropped marshmallows into it.

Yamaguchi returned alone, smelling faintly of smoke and worry. He washed his hands and put his gloves back on again.

“Something happened?” I left the plums to him and marched to retrieve the dough.

“Not really.” He shrugged. “Something felt fishy the other day and I asked Kuroo to keep an eye on it.”

“Fishy?” Kōshi frowned. He placed a slice of cashew cake onto the tray and scanned the tabletop for gingerbread cookies. “How so?”

“I thought someone was snooping around the back door last Monday.” Yamaguchi sliced the last plum and retrieved four baking forms from the bottom drawer. “I was cleaning tables when I heard scratching about here, like someone was fiddling with the locks. Though no one was outside when I looked around, so might've been just my imagination.”

“Better safe than sorry.” Kuroo walked in, shoving his phone (red, with an obnoxious, glittery black cat dangle) into his pocket. He unzipped his jacket and sniffed. “Inuoka's going to take care of it for now.”

“Thanks.” Yamaguchi put baking paper into the forms and scowled. “I don't want to bother Lev with it. He's got enough on his head now, and it was probably nothing anyway.”

For a too-long moment, no one said anything. Kuroo pinched his lips and slipped off his jacket, Kōshi finished putting Murasakibara's order together and left, I started layering the base for the plum cake, Yamaguchi lined the last form.

Ten days passed since Lev brought a drunk Yaku to my flat that Friday night. Not many were told what happened, but those few who knew were no less sullen and angry. That included people working at the café, Kuroo, Kenma, and Tsukishima. I also had a strange suspicion that Murasakibara guessed what was going on as well, though that was difficult to determine for certain.

“Did Lev say when they are coming back?” Yamaguchi started whipping a huge bowl of egg whites and raised his voice over the buzz of the mixer.

“In two weeks, so they should be back by the weekend,” I replied, sprinkling breadcrumbs over the raw dough.

“I still want to pay a visit to Yaku's parents and give them shit,” Kuroo drawled, passing the kitchen and stealing a plum on his way.

“Get in the queue,” Yamaguchi muttered, nearly completely muffled by the noise.

We finished preparing the cakes and set them into the oven. Yamaguchi yawned and leaned his back on the wall, tilting his chin up and closing his eyes.

“As awful as it sounds,” he said quietly, “it makes me appreciate even more that both Tsukki's as well as my parents are so tolerant.”

“Yeah…” I washed my hands and fixed my hair. “I'll go feed the cats.”

The early afternoon passed fairly well, with the freezing weather bringing in more patrons than usual, and — thank all — no Masasumi. It was snowing like no tomorrow by 3 o'clock when the little bell at the door rang twice and I automatically looked from behind the counter to see who the newcomer was.

I almost spat out my tea.

“Is Kuroo still around?” I uttered, staring over my shoulder at Yamaguchi.

“No, he left an hour ago. Why?” Yamaguchi peeked at the person that caught my attention. “Oh. It's him.”

“Hi. Been a while.” Daishō pulled off his black beanie and walked over. I frowned a little and pinched my lips, but not in hostility.

“You dropped some weight, didn't you?” I asked, leaving my tea and passing around the counter to lead the guy to a free seat. “I haven't seen you in what, a year? Whatever happened to you?”

“Twenty three kilos,” he droned, following me apathetically. “Ten months. Lots of nasty shit. Genetics. Nice to see you, too.”

“What do you mean? What the hell happened to your hair? Where have you been? Were you even in Japan? Auntie was worried sick!” I scowled, laying my hands on Daishō's shoulders and pushing him down on a pillowed armchair. “Wait…” I hunched forward to examine his gaunt face up close. It was greyish pale even despite the redness brought by the freezing temperature outside, his narrow eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by unhealthy shadows. “ _You_ are sick, aren't you?”

“I had to cut the hair, it was messed up,” he drawled, throwing his jacket over the armrest. He ran his fingers through his too-short-for-him strands. “I was in Korea. I'm not sick, only tired as fuck.” He rolled his eyes at my unconvinced glare. “Honestly, I'm not.”

“Bullshit. We grew up together, I know exactly when you are lying, dumbass. And Korea again? You said you wouldn't be going back there.”

Daishō groaned.

“Don't pull this family bonds shit on me again, for fuck's sake. I'm not lying. I had shit to take care of, get off my ass.” He coughed. “Coffee. Black, with whipped cream. And your plum cake.”

“Can I get you someth— oh, I didn't know you were here already.” Kōshi stopped beside me with a little smile. He turned to Daishō. “Hello. Well, I'll be—”

“Sugawara?” Daishō's eyebrow shot up.

Kōshi frowned in confusion. He titled his head, trying to determine who was he looking at.

“Daishō?” He stepped from one foot to the other uncomfortably. “You changed a lot. It's been a long time, right.”

“You know each other?” I switched my glances between the both of them.

“Wait, _you_ know each other?” Kōshi stared at me.

“Former roommate.” Daishō pointed at Kōshi. “Cousin. Not former.” He pointed at me.

“When did you have a roommate, Suguru?” I snorted. “ _You?_ Did you hit your head?”

“In Seoul, the previous time I went there.” Daishō shrugged, ignoring my jab. “Just so you'd know, I'm a decent roommate, un—”

“Well, it's a lot to catch up with,” Kōshi cut in. “And we've got work.”

“Black coffee, whipped cream, plum cake,” I repeated and nodded. “Be right back.”

 _I wonder if Kōshi's mention of “not feeling well for a long time” had something to do with this_ , I thought, watching him striding before me to the counter. He rubbed his neck. _He seems upset._

“Are you okay?” I asked quietly, stopping with my hand on the handle of the kitchen door. “Kō… Kōshi?”

He glanced up at me with slight confusion.

“Were you saying something? I'm sorry, I kind of, um, got distracted.” He smiled awkwardly.

“Come on.” I opened the door and stepped into the kitchen, beckoning him to follow. “Yams, could you watch the counter for a minute?”

“Yeah, give me a second.”

I started preparing Daishō's order and by the time Yamaguchi left, I had most of it done already. I told Kōshi to move to the back room and I marched to deliver the coffee and cake first, muttering hurriedly to my cousin that I would soon get back to talk to him.

Kōshi was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to a crate with bags of brown sugar. I untied my apron and sat on my heels in front of him. Sui was treading nearby, purring loudly and demanding attention.

“Are you okay?”

“Mm?” Kōshi gazed up at me, then smiled a little and broke the eye contact, choosing to stare at the floor instead. “I've had worse. I didn't expect to run into someone from Korea here. It wasn't exactly the brightest stage of my life. I would rather not think about it.”

I gulped and shifted far forward to wrap my arms around him in a wholehearted hug. Kōshi sighed and pulled me into his lap. He nuzzled my shoulder and stroked my back.

“It's in the past,” he murmured. “I'm way better now, I told you.” He kissed the side of my neck. “Thank you.”

I did hear him quite clear, yes, and it did make me warm inside… except that definitely was not the only thing that made me feel warm. Whether it was the fact that I was straddling Kōshi's thighs, or how his nose and lips smoothly brushed the exposed skin of my neck, or how his voice lowered when he was speaking so quietly — or, well, all of those at once — I suddenly became too aware of the situation.

_Oh man. I'm horny._

_I'm at work._

_I'm horny. I'm horny, I'm horny, holy shit, I'm horny, and this is a really bad timing._

Then I noticed that the mad pulse I felt through my fingertips was not my own and that Kōshi's breaths were the tiniest bit wavering.

_Oh._

_OH?_

_OH MY GOD._

“We— we should go back to work,” he murmured, but he still kept on stroking my back… except it didn't seem like a cheer-up gesture any more. “We really should— should go back to— to work.”

“Is it just me,” I rasped with a breathless chuckle, “or this line's being used seriously a lot today?” I closed my eyes and leaned back and away with an annoyed sigh. “But yeah, we should go back.”

I stood up and stretched, hoping it would clear my mind at least a little (ridiculous idea). I reached for my apron and tied it around me, taking deep, slow breaths. Kōshi eventually got to his feet as well and rubbed his temples.

“You go first, I'll be right there,” he said with a suspicious amount of innocence, but I only caught on it when I returned to the counter, sent Yamaguchi back to the kitchen, and when Kōshi walked out of the back room and I saw lingering traces of a blush on his face. The calibre of my discovery nearly punched all the air from my lungs.

_Holy shit. He did not._

_Or did he._

_Sugawara Kōshi, you are anything but innocent._

_And I'm horny._

My imagination ran wild and for the rest of the day I had big problems with staying conscious enough to do my job — to the point that I almost messed up Murasakibara's third order. I began honestly considering borrowing Kōshi's notepad, and my brain immediately switched to him, suggesting me various… interesting images. And there it went again.

“So you moved out?”

“Huh?” I raised my eyebrows with a face so dumb that Daishō nearly laughed.

“What exactly were you doing with Sugawara in the back room for so long?” He looked at me with his annoying smug smile with his tongue poking out, the kind of smirk that always drove Kuroo mad. “I asked if you had moved out.”

“Ah… yeah, I moved out.” I nodded, struggling to keep my focus on the conversation. “Last year. Now we take turns on who stays over to watch the cats for the night.”

“Huh? Sounds fun.” Daishō scraped the last crumbs of the plum cake from his plate and licked his thin lips. “I would offer to do it regularly, but I still have some self-respect.”

  


“You mean you chicken out because of Kuroo.” I smirked right back at him. Daishō ignored my statement and downed the rest of his coffee.

“I'll be going,” he mumbled tiredly, rubbing his forehead. “I gotta show up home. This is gonna be fucking shitty.”

“You can sleep over at my flat.” I shrugged, observing him worriedly. “I'm staying the night here anyway and you should get some good sleep before you go there.”

“I can?”

It had been so, so long since I had seen Daishō looking so vulnerable that I was left shocked. I ruffled his hair before I lightly slapped his head, making him scowl at me. 

_There, he's back._

“Your head is all greasy-gross, take a shower while you are there,” I said. “And feed Tsukki. His food is in the bottom drawer in the counter next to the window in the kitchen. And don't demoralise him any more than he already is.”

“Thanks.” Daishō relaxed in his seat with a long sigh and closed his eyes. I watched him for a moment in silence.

“You really are ill, aren't you,” I mumbled. “Twenty three kilos is way too much.”

He must have heard me, but didn't answer, not at first.

“Still kicking, still kicking,” he muttered after a while, barely moving his lips. “Still kicking.”

* * *

I changed the sign on the door to CLOSED and turned the locks.

“I'll do the kitchen this time,” I announced, taking off my apron.

“All right, I'll mop the floor here.” Kōshi nodded with a wide yawn.

“You sure you are not going to fall asleep before we are done?” I laughed. I didn't see _how_ that sounded until I spoke the last word.

“Done?” Kōshi repeated after me, drawing out the syllable. The look he gave me nearly made me melt on the spot. “Done with what?”

“You tell me,” I replied before my brain put on any brakes. “Mister I'll-stay-in-the-back-room-for-a-moment.”

Kōshi shut up. He shut up completely and then blushed worse than I had ever seen him.

_Oh my god. This is a headshot. He actually did it. Oh my god._

My clothes suddenly felt too tight. I took a slow step towards him, not breaking the eye contact.

Then everything went to hell.

“I… wait a moment, I have to check something,” I said in a thin voice. “It's not you, I promise,” I added quickly, seeing how embarrassed and terrified he looked. “I'll be right back.”

I ran upstairs to the bathroom, hurriedly closed the door behind me, slapped the light switch on and pulled down my bottoms. I took a single glance and wanted to howl in frustration.

I emerged and walked downstairs lifelessly five minutes later, displaying the most annoyed pout of all pouts. Kōshi was wiping the tables in movements so stiff that an average robot could learn a lot from him. His ears were dark red. He glanced up at me hesitantly.

“Is everything all right?” he asked, forcing a natural tone. He failed.

“Period,” I groaned. Kōshi went from red to pale in 0.5.

“Blood?” he asked.

“Um, yes. Three days too early.” I tilted my head, opening my eyes wider. “Wait, are you scared of blood or something?”

I remembered what he did with my bloody finger at the cinema and scraped the concept with a couple of stronger heartbeats.

“Uh, no,” he muttered. He dropped the wiping cloth on the table and scratched his head. “Do you need anything? Painkillers? Pads? Tampons? Heating pads?” He paused and frowned. “Chocolate? Ice-cream? Would you rather like to go home? I can manage here on my own.”

My jaw dropped. I was speechless.

“Are you an angel?” I uttered when I finally found my own tongue.

“Not that I know of.” Kōshi chuckled awkwardly. “So? Can I do something for you? Anything?”

_Unbelievable._

“Cuddle.” I grinned. “After we finish cleaning up here.”

“I can do it alone, you can go upstairs already.” He waved his hand dismissively and picked up the towel. I rolled my eyes.

“I'm not dying. I'll take care of the kitchen.”

One and a half hour later, after wrapping things up and a shower, I was bundled up with Kōshi under a pile of blankets, with a mug of hot chocolate in my hands and, with my back on his chest and sitting between his legs, with his chin on top of my head and his arms wrapped around me.

“He's totally going to befriend the dragon, isn't he?” I murmured. I took a long sip from my mug.

“Yeah…”

“Funny how all of them have such silly names, but Astrid got a nice one,” I pointed out. Kōshi hummed tiredly and yawned. I set my mug on the table and turned my head to glance at him. “You're going to doze off any minute now. We can finish watching this another time.”

  


Kōshi smiled sleepily and reached out to pause the movie and close the laptop. He yawned again and stretched his arms before cuddling me again and nuzzling my shoulder with a sigh.

_I'm still horny. Fucking period._

“Say, Kōshi…” I wiggled around to get on my knees and bring my face inches away from his. He blinked three times.

“Yes?”

“What did you do earlier in the back room?” The corners of my mouth twitched a little up when I peered at him under my eyelashes. Kōshi almost choked on his own breath, but then unexpectedly regained composure and smirked right back at me.

“You'd like to know, wouldn't you?” For a moment, he kept his smoky expression, but then he laughed with a shade of embarrassment and covered his eyes for a second. “I didn't do anything, I was too scared someone could walk in.”

“So you did nothing?” I narrowed my eyes. A simple plan formed in my head and for the first step, I slowly, so slowly, shifted my hand onto his knee. “At all?”

“Nothing…” Kōshi peeked at my hand, then back into my eyes. “At all.”

“That must have been frustrating,” I drawled, trailing my fingers up his thigh. I could sense his pulse quickening gradually and his cheeks flushed pink.

“It was a bit, ye— yes.” Kōshi's eyes were shifting between my hand and my face like he was still trying to figure out what I was up to, although he obviously knew.

“That's awful,” I mused, stopping my hand at the junction between his thigh and hip. “Would you like me to make it better?”

“You don't— don't have to,” Kōshi uttered, but it was clear what his actual answer would be.

“That's not what I was asking about,” I remarked, slipping my fingers underneath his top to trace his stomach, feeling how he tensed up minimally.

“Well, then— then yes. Please.”

I lightly pushed his shoulder, signalling him to lay down, to which he complied so quickly that his upper back and head hit the futon behind us with a quiet thud. I leaned forward, supporting myself on my arms, and drank in how flustered he looked, with his chocolate eyes half-lidded, lips slightly parted, cheeks tinted pink and chest rising and falling with each deep breath he took.

“Don't look,” I murmured, sliding my hands up his thighs while shuffling backwards at the same time.

“Okay…” Kōshi covered his eyes with his forearm.

I reached the waistband of his sweats and hooked my fingers at it. He was already half-hard and it sure encouraged me to go on, so I unhurriedly pulled his bottoms down, underwear and all. Kōshi's breath hitched and he pressed the top of his palm to his mouth. I traced my index finger up and down his shaft and leaned down to follow the line with my tongue. Kōshi gasped and his thigh muscles twitched under my hands, and then I took him into my mouth and he straight up moaned through clenched teeth.

I noticed he had a small, cute mole right next to the base and I smiled inwardly when I let my fingers brush over it before I lowered my head as much as I could and I started sucking.

“Fu— hnnnn…” Kōshi bit back a swear and reached out to card his fingers through my hair. “This… is—” 

I pulled back and swirled my tongue around the tip before diving in again, grabbing Kōshi's hand from my hair to entwine our fingers. Kōshi sighed and shuddered and then suddenly raised himself onto his elbows with a gasp.

“Wa— wait!” He let go of my hand to frantically try to push my head away, squeezing his eyes shut. “Time out, time out!” He managed to raise my head barely two inches away, but it was way too late. “Time ou— hnnnnn…!” 

Kōshi chocked on his own loud groan with a pained scowl, almost doubled over, and then fell back onto the futon. His chest heaved when he opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows.

He looked at me.

He saw my soiled face.

He freaked out.

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry!” He nervously pulled up his sweats and scrambled for a box of tissues to immediately wipe the stuff off my face. “I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I should've warned you sooner, I'm so so—”

“Kōshi—”

“—rry, I'm the worst—”

“Kōshi…”

“—you must think I'm disgusting, I'm really sorry!” He pulled out tissue after tissue, hurriedly rubbing my skin with them.

“ _Kōshiiiiii…_ ”

“Please don't hate me—”

“Sugawara Kōshi, shut up for a moment, will you?!” I raised my voice. He went quiet, red, and was ready to cry. “It's okay.” I took his hands, knocking the tissues off. “It really is okay. You are not disgusting. I'm not angry or anything. I'm pretty content, actually.” I smirked, stroking his palms to emphasize what I said. “Your reaction was… really nice,” I murmured, looking away. My blush caught up with me. “I don't mean the apologies part, I mean the one before that.”

“I've never had anyone do that to me before,” Kōshi mumbled. He looked wrecked, happy, and utterly embarrassed at the same time. “I'm really sorry.”

“Everything's all right.” I smiled and stood up, followed by his terrified stare. “Give me a second.”

I skipped to the bathroom to wash my face properly and then hurried back, just to find Kōshi sitting curled up with his arms around his shins and his face pressed to his knees.

“I'm gross,” he muttered.

“You are not gross,” I whispered, sitting behind him and wrapping my arms around him. I rested my cheek on his shoulder. “You are sweet, caring, and simply amazing. And it's okay. Honestly.” I snickered and tightened my grip when I felt him flinch at the sound. “Don't feel bad, we can practise more later.”

Kōshi sighed and turned his head to look at me hesitantly.

“Come on, give me a hug and let's go to sleep,” I said soothingly, lightly tapping his forearm. He sighed again and relaxed, opening his arms and letting me in. He buried his face in my hair. His heart was still running at a crazy pace.

“ _You_ are the sweet, caring, and amazing here,” he muttered.

We somehow crawled under the covers and nestled in one futon (despite that we had two of them prepared) without untangling each other and I managed to turn off the small lamp. Kōshi's face was touching my neck when he cuddled to me and there was something so fragile about it that my heart fluttered. I couldn't hold myself back from brushing my fingers through his hair and kissing the top of his head. He let out a deep breath that sounded absolutely lovestruck and he pulled me closer.

“Goodnight,” I murmured sleepily.

“Goodnight,” Kōshi whispered. His lips brushed the skin of my neck and stirred a cloud of butterflies in my stomach.

I smiled and drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you didn't expect this sort of blood. Ha.


	6. Green paint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the shit hits the fan. Or at least some of it.

At first, I wasn't sure what exactly woke me up. I opened my eyes. It was still dark, the clock displayed 3:38 AM in glowing red digits, and orange light from the street lamp illuminated a thick layer of snow on the outer windowsill.

Kōshi was sleeping on his back with one arm under my head and the other covering his eyes. I turned onto my side to cuddle closer and drift off again.

I almost jumped when a cat's piercing, terrified cry sounded suddenly somewhere downstairs, and a loud crash followed. Kōshi jolted awake with a gasp.

“Did a cat really just made one hell of a noise, or it was just a dream?” he mumbled groggily.

“I think one of them got into the kitchen,” I said slowly. “And I think it made a mess there, by the sound of it.”

“I'll go check it out.” Kōshi yawned and slowly sat up. A stream of cold air seeped under the covers and I scowled.

“I'll go with you, there will probably be some good deal of cleaning involved,” I muttered, crawling out to get my robe. “I don't remember the last time any of them did such a thing, they always stick upstairs during the night.”

“So they can open the door? Both to the staircase and to the kitchen?” Kōshi ran his hand through his ridiculously messed up hair and got to his feet. “They were closed.”

“Sui started it, and then the rest of the cats learned from him.” I rolled my eyes. “Sneezer is particularly good at it, he can jump at the handle and open it in one try most of the time. We also had that really old cat, Kusokawa, a couple of years ago. That one could open any door as long as it wasn't locked.”

"Kusokawa?" Kōshi chuckled. "I think I've heard that nickname somewhere before…"

We were halfway down the stairs when we heard door being slammed shut and glass breaking. We both froze.

“A cat didn't do that,” Kōshi whispered with wide eyes. He extended his arm to the side to keep me from going further. “Please, stay here.”

“And where do you think _you're_ going?” I hissed. “What if there's more than one intruder? Hell, even if there's just one, they might be in the kitchen, there are knives!”

Kōshi frowned. He ran his tongue over his lower lip and bit into it in concentration.

“I suspect they are gone, that was really loud and they might have ran away.”

I straightened up.

“There's a small hammer upstairs in the bathroom, Yamaguchi was fixing the shelf and he forgot to bring it back to the storage afterwards.”

Kōshi nodded.

“Go get it.” He took a deep breath. “I'll wait here in case… well…”

“Wait here _for real_. Don't you dare go down there alone.” 

I threw him an anxious glance and ran upstairs. I trudged into the bathroom and frantically looked around in search — luckily, the hammer was easy to spot, laying below the fixed shelf. On my way back, I peeked into the cat room.

There were currently ten cats at the café. There were nine in the room, and while it wouldn't be that easy to discern in the faint light from the street lamp, it wasn't difficult to notice that the missing one was the biggest one of them all.

“Okay,” Kōshi muttered, weighting the hammer in his hand. He exhaled slowly. “Okay. Stay here.”

“Like hell I will,” I snarled. “We'll go back-to-back, that way no one can sneak up on us.”

“That won't be of much help if someone does decide to attack,” Kōshi hissed. “Stay. Here. Please. I don't want you to get hurt.”

“No way!” I glared at him, wrapping my fingers around his wrist. “Like I wouldn't be worried about you? We shouldn't even go there in the first place!”

“Oh, for fuck's sake! Please listen, _please!_ Stay here!” Kōshi's angry whisper broke a little at the end, revealing how scared he actually was.

“I am not sta— Wait… shouldn't there be someone in the back alley?” I frowned. “Kuroo said…” My eyes widened. “He gave me the phone number to Inuoka.”

“All right.” Kōshi stared at his feet. For a moment, we both strained our hearing to pick up any noise from the café. In vain. “Let's lock the staircase door and go call him.”

The clock showed 3:49 AM when we sat in the small room and I waited with my phone pressed to my ear, listening to the steady beeping of the outgoing call.

“Nn? Whozzit?”

“Inuoka?”

“Kitty-Cat?”

“Inuoka, please tell me you are in the back alley.”

“… yeah. God dammit, Kuroo.” Inuoka yawned at his end of the line. “Been here since like… um… holy crap, it's been six hours already? I need coffee, can you—”

“Did anyone get in through the back door?” I cut him off. Kōshi was watching me with a mix of worry and fear.

“Eh? No, no one's been here all night, except for one homeless dude three hours ago, but he's long gone. Why are you—”

“Are you sure?” I pressed. I clenched my fist on the bed sheet.

“Yeah, the door's locked. I just checked now.” I heard footsteps from Inuoka's side. “What's going on? Did something happen?”

“What about the front door?”

“Give me a second, I need to… oh. I'll talk to you in a moment.”

Inuoka cut the call.

I slowly lowered my phone, looking at Kōshi.

“Sui's downstairs,” I said quietly. “What if…”

“Don't.” Kōshi pressed his finger to my mouth. “Let's wait for Inuoka first.” He bit his lips and scooped my hand to hold it in both of his. “It's going to be okay.” He hung his head low and looked away. “Sorry I'm so useless here.”

He mumbled something more, but it was so incoherent that I could only discern “pathetic” and “again”. I blinked three times and shuffled forward to wrap my arms around him. He hugged me back without a word and hid his face in my shoulder.

_That sounded like a deeper issue to me._

“You are not useless,” I muttered into his ear. “Imagine what would happen if I was here alone.”

“Better not.” Kōshi gulped. His hand trailed up to stroke my hair.

_Distract him._

“How about we go ice-skating this weekend again?” I smiled when I heard him chuckle lightly.

“Don't you still have bruises after the last time? I do, there's that biiiig one on my b—”

“Kitty-Cat! Where are you?”

We both looked at the door and I exhaled in relief.

“Guess it's safe after all,” I said.

We stood up and set off to the staircase. I couldn't tell whether it was me more holding on to Kōshi's hand, or the other way around, but the grip was so tight that our knuckles were nearly white.

Inuoka appeared in the door at the bottom of the stairs. He was carrying a torch.

“I couldn't find the light switch,” he explained, but I was more taken aback with his expression.

It was not a face of someone who was about to tell you that nothing happened.

I reached to the wall on my side.

I turned on the lights.

All blood drained off my face.

“I'm afraid you'll have to close the café for the time being,” Inuoka said quietly.

I covered my mouth with my hand and looked around with wide eyes, shaking my head in disbelief.

“What about the kitchen?” Kōshi asked blankly. “The storage room? Is the whole café like this?”

“I didn't look in the storage,” Inuoka replied. “But kitchen, yeah. And… uh… there's…”

“Did you see a cat?” I cut in nervously. “A big, black and white cat with a red collar.”

Inuoka stared at me with an uneasy look on this face.

“Yeah.” He averted his gaze. “But…”

Kōshi let go of my hand and marched to the kitchen door, cracking it open enough only for him to turn on the lights and peek inside. He stood there for a moment in silence, then he closed the door, turned around, and leaned his back on it, closing his eyes.

“What the hell?” he rasped. “What the actual hell?”

“I called it in already.” Inuoka stepped from foot to foot. “They should arrive soon. Please don't move anything here. It would be best if you went upstairs and stayed there for now.”

I nodded and turned around to head back, but I halted in mid-step and glanced over my shoulder. Kōshi was already walking to me, watching me with heavy sadness.

“Inuoka…” I spoke up, not sure if I even wanted to hear the answer. “Is the cat, Sui, is he…”

“Yeah.”

I turned back towards the stairs and nodded again, feeling my throat clench.

“I'll stay here,” Inuoka added. “I'll call you when we need you. And you should call Lev. And Kuroo.”

“Will do,” Kōshi promised. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and cautiously lead me up the stairs.

I hadn't even noticed I was crying until we sat down in the small room and he cupped my face in his hands to wipe my cheeks with his thumbs. I wasn't sobbing, in fact, I wasn't making any sound, which was nearly impossible with how blocked my throat was. Or maybe I was too shocked for that yet. Kōshi pulled me onto his lap and hugged me tightly.

“Hey,” he murmured. “We'll deal with it. We'll clean up, fix broken things, get new glass for the doors, and all will be fine again.” He gently combed his fingers through my hair. “Police knows what happened, they are going to investigate, and catch the bloody hell out of whoever did that. That's how it's going to be. Okay?”

I gulped, squeezing the back of his tank top in my fists.

“I'll call Lev and Kuroo.”

I imagined what would Lev feel after hearing the news, after what he had just gone through, and that was when I completely broke down. Kōshi kissed my temple and rocked us lightly side to side while he talked in a drained voice on the phone.

Little did I know that it was not the end of the horrible things for the day.

* * *

This time I was woken up by someone stroking my cheek.

“Mm? Kōshi?” I mumbled, turning onto my back and squinting my eyes open in the stinging daylight.

“Try again.” There was a little chuckle in the voice. “Good-almost-afternoon, Sugar.”

“Lev?” I sat up way too fast and my head went a little dizzy for a second. “When did you get back?”

“Hmm, two hours ago? We had to wait for a train earlier, but it went pretty fast after that.” Lev patted my head and grinned. “That bedhead is wild even for some very active dreaming,” he remarked. He narrowed his eyes in a mock suspicion. “Or is it not a _sleep_ kind of a bedhead?”

I sighed and smoothed out my hair.

“It's a _regular_ bedhead.” I stared at him with a deadpan face. “Because I'm on my period,” I hissed.

“Eeeh, I missed your dumb looks.” Lev cackled and squeezed me in a hug. “Get dressed, eat something, and help with the cleaning.”

Any traces of smile I had instantly disappeared.

“Right.” I rubbed my forehead.

“Don't worry too much.” The kind of smile that Lev gave me was something so rare for him that a painful shiver ran up my spine. He only made that sort of smile when he was putting up a brave front and was very much not all right. “The police found some traces, seems like the intruder… or at least one of them, if there were more… cut themselves on a shard of window glass, there was some little blood there and bloody fingerprints. Inuoka is leading the case, so it will be taken care of well.” Lev pouted and threw me a sneaky gaze. “Now get up. You are not going to slip out of cleaning. Even Kenma is helping, so you have no excuses.”

“Yeees, boss…” I groaned, standing up on wobbly feet to drag myself to the bathroom. “… what time is it?”

“I told you, almost noon, you lazy cat butt!” Lev was already walking downstairs.

The digital clock showed 11:47 AM like an accusation. I grabbed a change of clothes and locked myself in the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and had to admit that Lev was right about the state of my hair.

 _Suguru was supposed to call me_ , I thought sourly while brushing my teeth and checking my phone for new messages. _He better did not forget to feed Tsukki._

I completely forgot about it by the time I made myself presentable and walked downstairs. The place looked even more depressing in the gloomy daylight, shards of glass sticking out in the door like teeth, and greenish paint spilled over the walls, carpets, and tables. I pulled on my jacket and hat.

“Mornin',” Kuroo called. “We were just about to get started, so go eat something and let's do it.”

“Hi,” Kenma muttered, followed by Yaku's greeting and Yamaguchi's yawn and wave.

“Tsukki and Suga will be back soon,” Lev said, walking in from the back room with a mop. “They went to order new glass for the door.”

“And to Tanaka,” Kenma mumbled, bunching up his hair on the back of his head to tie it.

“Yeah.” Kuroo fixed an apron for Kenma with a neat bow on the small of his back.

“Tanaka…?” 

“Well, he's a vet, so…” Yamaguchi scratched his neck. “You know, Sui…”

“Oh.” I looked away. “Yeah.” I sighed and zipped up my jacket. “I'll go get some breakfast, I'll be back soon.”

“Don't get lost in the snow!” Lev sang after me. “It's so thick even Murasakibara would get covered.”

“What is this, Hokkaido?” I whined, stepping out. Lev did exaggerate, but not much. The street on which the café was located was never a busy one, so even though a snowplough must have gone through, it was already covered with a layer reaching my ankles and more was falling from the sky in countless large, fluffy bits of joined snowflakes.

“Oh, you are closed today?” I heard a voice behind me.

“Hm?” I turned around only for my eyes to meet with someone's chest in an expensive looking coat. I glanced up and felt my cheeks heating up. “Uh, yeah. We are closed, sorry. How did you know I'm working here…?”

The guy _had to_ be a model. There was no other explanation.

“Murasakibaracchi told me about this place,” the stranger grinned, showing amazingly straight, white teeth. His golden eyes were framed with an eyeliner so perfect that it was unbelievable. His smile faltered and the day suddenly felt sadder than before. “It looks like you had a break-in, didn't you? Is there anything I can help with here?” He tilted his head, making his immaculate blond hair brush over his forehead that wrinkled with worry. “Are you okay?”

“I— I'm fine.” I chuckled awkwardly, trying to pretend that I had not just sniffled. “I'm sorry, but I have to go. Would you like to come back here in a couple of days? We should be done sorting things out soon. I'm really sorry you had to see this.”

“It's all right, please don't mind me!” The guy waved his hands, making some snow shake down from his flashy yellow umbrella. “Hmm, I'm not sure if I'm going to be around by then, but I'll try to drop by.” He have me one more blinding grin. “See you later!”

“He didn't even introduce himself,” I muttered to myself, turning around to drag myself to the closest shop. “Maybe it's something common for Atsushi and his folks. Or basketball players in general, judging by his size. He was nice, though.” I scrunched up my nose. “Bentō, bentō, bentō, gotta buy a gross ready-made bentō, stupid freaking period cravings…”

I waited for the light on the pedestrian crossing to turn blue and idly traced the lines on my phone in my pocket.

“Oh, right.” I sighed and pulled it out and dialled Daishō's number.

And waited.

After half a minute, the steady beep-beep ended with his voice mail and I exhaled in irritation.

“Seriously, he's still as unreliable as ever… I think I'll have to take a detour and check up on Tsukki.”

I used to ask Mrs. Yamada to take care of him in case I wasn't around.

“I wonder what happened with her sausage dog… Oh, the light's blue.”

I called Lev. He picked up almost right away.

“Something happened?” 

“No, I'm fine,” I said quickly, “I'm just going to step into my flat for a moment. Daishō told me he'd call me, but he didn't, and he's not answering his phone. I need to make sure he fed the cat.”

“Sure.” Lev snickered. “Don't worry, there will still be stuff for you to clean up when you come back.”

“Figures,” I mumbled. “Later.”

I got the bentō and decided to try to call Daishō one more time. I slipped off one glove and picked out his number, scowling at the cold biting into my fingers.

Beep. 

Beep. 

Beep.

“ _It's Daishō Suguru. Do not leave any messages after the signal. Beep._ ”

I sighed in defeat and slid the phone back into my pocket. I stood in front of the shop, looking there and back, wondering which route to my flat would be the shortest. It would be 10 minutes walking at best and then at least twice as much back to the café. 

“He could've at least texted me,” I grumbled under my nose, kicking snow. “Whatever. I'll kick his ass later.”

I barely made a single step when my phone buzzed.

Daishō.

“Huh. Some timing this is.” I answered the call and clicked my tongue. “You were supposed to report to me 3 hours ago, Suguru, I swear—”

I trailed off when I heard a nasty, wheezing cough on the other end of the line.

“You okay?” I frowned. “Suguru, where are you?”

“Your… flat…”

“Are you all right? Suguru?!”

“Sh… it… a… ambulance…”

“Why did you call me instead of the ambulance yourself, idiot?!” I began walking faster. “What's going on?!”

“Don't fucking… come here,” Daishō growled. “Just… call… don't… come… uhh… sh…”

“Suguru?”

I could only hear faint breathing.

“Suguru?!” I started running. “ _Suguru?!_ ”

I cancelled the call and dialled Lev's number again.

He picked up quickly. He laughed.

“Miss me already?”

“Something's… wrong…” I panted. 

“What…?”

“Daishō's in my flat… something happened! Something's WRONG!” I yelled.

“Where are you?” Lev's voice turned terrified in a heartbeat. “Did you call the police? What happened?! Where are you?! Are you safe?!”

“Running there… from the shop…” I breathed in the freezing air in gasps, leaving white clouds of my exhales behind me and praying I wouldn't slip on the icy pavement. I could hear more voices around Lev, probably surprised by his shout.

“We'll be right there!” There was lots of crackling and shuffling noise from his side and his voice sounded a little farther from the phone. “Tsukishima, get the car!”

I ended the call and did my best to ignore how my unconditioned body was already burning from the exertion. The plastic bag with my breakfast was swinging back and forth in my hand and one of my shoelaces was loose, and I only hoped that I wouldn't trip over it.

I dialled 119.

I saw Tsukishima's car stopping on my street at the same time I finished the call and passed the corner and with some inhuman surge of energy sped up to a sprint until I nearly crashed with Lev, who got out from the passenger's seat. Kōshi and Kuroo crawled out from the back seats.

“I called… an… ambulance…” I gasped, clutching onto Lev to save myself from toppling over and dying in a pile of snow. Tsukishima stepped out of his car.

“We left Kenma and Yamaguchi at the café,” Lev said while I let them into the building and we started running up the stairs. “And Kuroo called Inuoka.”

We reached my flat.

My hand was shaking so much that when I raised it to unlock the door, the keys jingled unpleasantly loud.

The door wasn't locked.

It slid half an inch open under my touch. My heart skipped a beat and then rose to my throat.

“It's open,” I rasped.

Lev nudged me aside and he slowly pushed the door ajar. It creaked piercingly in the otherwise quiet hallway.

I almost had a heart attack when Tsukki jumped out of the dark entryway with a loud, scared meow and climbed up Lev's leg.

I took a deep breath, squeezing the ears of the plastic bag in my hand. 

Kuroo reached inside and flipped the light switch on.

I dropped the bag.

It fell to the floor with a muffled thud.

“ _Suguru!_ ”

I lurched forward and slipped. I landed heavily on my back, got my breath knocked out of me from the impact, but the first thing I actually registered was how my hand splashed into something wet, which coincidentally was the same thing that made me lose my balance.

Daishō was laying face-down in a puddle of blood.

My mind barely paid any attention when I was pulled to my feet and away. I could only see Tsukishima turning Daishō onto his back, I was almost hypnotised by how stark white Daishō's face was and how it contrasted with the small line of blood that must have trickled from his pale mouth.

Tsukishima leaned down until his ear was right above Daishō's lips.

“He's breathing,” he stated blankly.

“He was stabbed?” Kuroo knelt down next to him and pulled the blood-soaked shirt up Daishō's abdomen. “Fuck.”

I felt my stomach twisting and squeezing. I clasped my hand over my mouth.

“I'm gonna be sick,” I uttered through my fingers. I closed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth, but I couldn't remove the scene from my brain. “I'm gonna be sick.”

“Where's the bathroom?”

I sluggishly tilted my head to glance at him when I realised who had been holding me up.

“Kōshi?”

“On the right.” Kuroo pointed at the door with his finger, clutching his phone at his ear with his other hand. “Careful around.” He watched as Tsukishima pressed his hands on the wound in Daishō's abdomen. “… Inuoka? Where are you?”

“Come on,” Kōshi half-carried, half-dragged me to the bathroom, keeping a steady grip around my waist.

“Why is this happening,” I mumbled. “What is this… what is…”

I didn't feel like vomiting any more, but I leaned over the sink and splashed cold water on my face while trying not to pass out. 

“Slow down.” Kōshi held my shoulders.

“Hmm…?”

“Hey, look at me.” Kōshi helped me up, turned me around and cupped my face. I blinked three times and eventually focused my eyes on his. He was horribly pale and looked just about as ready to pass out as I was. “Breathe with me, okay? Slower.”

I nodded, closed my eyes, and poured all my attention to following his rhythm, so much that I didn't even hear any sounds from outside the bathroom, not even the sirens, not even the paramedics that rushed to Daishō, not even when Inuoka arrived with some other policemen.

I somehow ended up sitting on my own bed, but I had no recollection of walking there, never mind of when I washed my hands or changed my stained clothes for clean ones. I only knew that I was bundled up like a sick cat and trying to make myself as small as I could, and that I was held in an embrace and my hair was being stroked, from the top of my head to the nape of my neck, slowly, gently, fingers barely combing through my strands.

“It will be safer if you stay at my house for a couple of days, okay?” Lev asked quietly. “Inuoka's going to take a close look around here, we'll tidy it all up, and—”

“I want to move out,” I muttered. “I just can't…” I gulped. “This is too much—” My voice broke, so I stopped talking.

“Okay.” Lev trailed off. “You'll stay with us until you move places, then. Okay?”

“Okay…” My eyes fluttered open and for a moment I was utterly confused, because Lev was squatting on the floor next to my bed, right in front of me, and in my state I hadn't even noticed that he couldn't have been the one holding me.

Kuroo and Tsukishima appeared at the threshold.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, scratching his jaw.

“Like crap,” I replied blankly.

“That's actually worse than that fucker, then.” Kuroo wanted to smile, but it never worked when he was talking about Daishō, so in effect he looked like he had a bad stomach ache. “He's going to be all right. He was already conscious when they were taking him away. Badmouthed me even, that piece of shit.”

“I'll go make some tea.” Lev stood up.

“I can do that,” I offered, but he waved me off.

“Stay there and get some rest, you had enough adventures today.”

“How is making tea an—”

“Just staaaay theeeeere…” Lev whined with an exaggerated exasperation. He grabbed Kuroo by his elbow and dragged him along, closing the door almost in Tsukishima's face. I heard the latter's sour comment on the other side.

“See, he's going to be fine.”

I nodded silently and turned to wrap my arms around Kōshi's midsection and push him backwards until we ended up laying side by side in a tangle of limbs. I could see the window behind him, with first small patches of blue sky beneath the grey clouds.

“This is a really shitty day,” I mused, absent-mindedly watching Kōshi's lips. “What time is it, anyway?”

“Not sure,” Kōshi hummed. “I think around 2:30.”

“Wow, still so much day left to make things worse,” I remarked.

Kōshi chuckled and squeezed my hand.

The sun made its way between the dispersing clouds and seeped right into my room, settling perfectly on Kōshi's hair, illuminating the loose strands like a halo in soft, gold tones, much in the same way it lit up the dust swirling in the air behind him. He turned his head a little and the tops of his eyelashes were touched by the light as well. I rolled him onto his back and his whole face was in the sunlight, the tones so lively, eyes showing shades of brown so intense and warm that at that moment, I couldn't find anything to compare. I leaned over him on my elbows and did my best to remember the sight, because it was nothing short of breathtaking.

Kōshi blinked slowly and gave me a small smile.

“Teaaa…”

Kōshi sighed. We sat up next to each other and slid our feet to the floor.

By the sound of it, Lev probably thudded at the door with his entire body before Kuroo opened it and they both stepped in with Inuoka, Tsukishima, and a tray loaded with teacups. Kuroo was carrying Tsukki; the cat was purring loudly in his arms and surely leaving a lot of snow white hair on his black sweater.

“We can go to the kitchen instead of sitting, uh, in my bedroom…” I smiled awkwardly. “This place is tiny, I don't have a daily room, sorry…”

“I'd rather prefer to stay here,” Inuoka said while Lev administered tea. “There are… traces in the kitchen that we are still working on, and some of them are rather…” He waved his hand in a vague gesture instead of continuing the sentence.

I frowned, wrapping my fingers around the hot mug.

“What do you mean?”

“There's stuff written on the wall and it's nasty. No need for you to see it,” Kuroo droned.

“It was done in the same colour as the paint spilled in the café,” Lev added sullenly.

“So…” I pinched my lips and stared down into my tea. One of the twigs was floating vertically by the surface. “It means that it was done by the same person?”

“That is possible,” Inuoka agreed. He sipped from his cup and glanced outside through the window. “And it would be a logical assumption, but for now the only thing that links the two events is the colour of the paint and how soon one was done after the other, and that is not enough to be sure.”

“Wow, I would've never imagined you could sound so smart,” Kuroo chimed, taking his seat on the floor. “Almost like _me_.”

“Anyway…” Inuoka graciously ignored Kuroo's statement. “Daishō said that he was about to leave the flat a little past 8 and the intruder attacked him when he was wrapping his scarf on. That means it was around 4-5 hours between the two offences.”

“He had been laying there bleeding out _for four hours_?” I asked faintly. I had to put my mug on the floor because I was sure it would slip out of my grasp pretty soon.

“Not necessarily. He was knocked unconscious first. He could've been stabbed at any point later.” Inuoka bit his lips. “Please stay at someone else's place for a couple of days from now. Kuroo told me it wasn't the first time someone broke in here, and I still want to look around in case we missed something. We'll take a look if there are any traces in this room and then I'd also like you to check if there's anything missing.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “No luck with any fingerprints whatsoever so far, they must have worn gloves.”

“If you don't need us here, we should go back to the café for now,” Lev muttered, downing the rest of his tea. “There's still a lot of work to be done.”

I stood up and stretched my arms. Kōshi and Kuroo also got to their feet.

“I'll call you,” Inuoka said. He stroked Tsukki's head and the cat purred louder. “Please take the fluffball with you, I can't have him wandering around.”

We squeezed our way out between several police officers and some experts collecting evidence — whatever it was — and quietly marched down the stairs.

“Did something bad happen, Missy?”

I closed my eyes for a second and then turned around with a polite smile.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Sakusa.”

Mrs. Sakusa, who was only a little younger than Mrs. Yamada, was standing in the door to her flat in a flowery yukata and with an encouraging smile on her wrinkled face. A familiar looking sausage dog was silently staring at us from between her ankles.

“Well, I had another break-in,” I said with a loud sigh like it was nothing more than a small inconvenience. It was better to keep a theatrical approach around her. “Have you seen someone suspicious around, perhaps?”

“I don't watch people much!” Mrs. Sakusa's chuckle did not fool anyone. “But come to think of it, there was that shady looking person yesterday afternoon, he went straight to your flat.” She glanced to the side before staring right into my eyes. “He resembled of a snake and didn't even greet me.”

“I don't think he was the one,” I replied, doing my best not to sound disappointed. “How about today?”

“Only your boyfriend!” Mrs. Sakusa grinned like a cat that caught a mouse. “Mrs. Yamada, may she rest in peace, she was right, he's such a handsome boy! I would have talked to him, but he dashed by so fast.”

“… who?”

Everyone looked at Kōshi.

“… I was with Tsukishima, I'd like to remind you,” he said dryly.

“We know that.” I grazed his hand with my fingers. I decided to bomb myself in front of the newest biggest gossip source in the area. “Um… that definitely was not, uh, my boyfriend, Mrs. Sakusa.” I nodded at Kōshi. “He's standing right here and it's the first time he was in my home.”

Mrs. Sakusa's eyes glimmered with delight.

“I knew it! What a sweet face.” She stepped closer — the sausage dog followed — and patted Kōshi's cheek. Kōshi smiled in his usual beaming way, but I could easily see how awkward he actually felt.

“That guy that was here in the morning,” Kuroo spoke up, “what did he look like… Mrs. Sakusa?”

“Hmm?” Mrs. Sakusa tilted her chin up a little, pretending to be deep in thought. “I wouldn't be quite sure, I didn't see up close and my sight isn't all that good…” She shook her head slowly. “He was about this tall.” She looked at Tsukishima. “He had black hair and wore a red jacket.”

“That's helpful,” Kuroo remarked blankly. “Thank you! We should go now, it was very nice talking to you. Oh… if that wouldn't be much of a problem, could you tell all this to the policemen upstairs, please?” He smiled sweetly, but Mrs. Sakusa narrowed her eyes at him.

“I will.” She clicked her tongue. “You should lose those piercings, young boy, they are terrible. And for the love of all, brush your hair.”

“… will do,” Kuroo uttered once he got his voice back. “Good day.”

“Kids these days,” Mrs. Sakusa mumbled before she gave us a smile and a goodbye and disappeared in her flat with her dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm still not at the main course. Fuck my life.


	7. New place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kenma goes ballistic not in his video games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back (back again)? I had to rewrite this chapter almost entirely after I had realised that I had performed a majestic plot fuck up earlier in the story. But worry not, it's all right now. No one will know what was it even about.
> 
> The Murder of this Murder Mystery story is now officially a cryptid.  
> I begin to suspect that this is going to take more than 10 chapters in total.

I was let into my own flat after the police had finished their procedures _and_ after Lev and Kuroo had painted over whatever it had been done on my kitchen wall. Lev picked a flashy red paint for that, explaining that the place needed something livelier than plain old white greyed with years of dust.

But after then — two days — I was finally allowed to pack my things and move them to Lev's house for the time being.

Which was how I discovered one disturbing thing.

“You're kidding.” Yaku stared at me like I had just announced that there was a ticking bomb hidden in my bedroom. He took a day off work to help me with carrying things and now he stood in the kitchen, clutching a mug of coffee in his hand. “Your _underwear_ is missing?”

“I thought it was in the laundry basket,” I muttered, rubbing my forehead. “When I was told to search if anything got stolen during that break-in, I never thought about checking on my underwear!”

“So… um.” Yaku set his mug on the counter, perhaps afraid he'd involuntarily drop it at some point. “You thought it was in the basket, so… it was… _unwashed_ underwear?”

I pressed my fingers to my temples.

“I feel gross right now. Really gross.”

Yaku sat down at the table and rested his chin on his hand.

“You know…” He bit his lips. “I think that makes things clearer.”

“Yeah.” 

I dug out my phone from my pocket. I took a couple of deeper breaths and leaned my back on the door frame before I slid down to sit on the floor and wrap my arms around my knees. I dialled Inuoka's number.

“Kitty-Cat?” Inuoka picked up after the second beep, sounding breathless. “Something's happened?”

“I…” I gulped. The conclusion I came to after the discovery was obvious, but saying it out loud would put it explicitly in front of my face and I was not sure if I was prepared for that.

“Where are you?” Inuoka asked impatiently. “Are you all right? You sound out of it. Are you still in your flat or at Lev's already?”

“My flat,” I said. “I'm at my flat. Yaku's with me. I realised that there is something missing after all. And…” I ran my hand down my face. “And I think I have a stalker.”

* * *

But as eventful that week was, the following days had me fall back into a slightly new routine.

Lev's house was absolutely beautiful in its vintage status, I had to admit that. It even had a comfortable garden at the back that surely would look amazing after winter passes.

Unfortunately, what it also was, was: in need of a new roof, new plumbing, new window frames, fixing the walls, anti-termite treatment, redo of the entire bathroom, and a couple of new heaters. I slept in a regular futon with all the cats — 6 of them plus my Tsukki — with Yaku, Lev, and four old electric heaters in the same room, too, to keep and share the most warmth for the night.

Lev was too tall for all of the door frames.

It was rather refreshing though, especially after taking a shower and dressing up with my teeth clinking in the freezing cold and my skin covering in so much goosebumps that I wondered if I could really turn into a goose.

For some reason, this winter just had to be the coldest and the harshest since the 1920's.

Yes, that was refreshing.

But it was also fun, playing Cards Against Humanity that Alisa got from her friend in America in the evening after work (even though neither of us could understand some of them, since they were all in English), or listening to Yaku's ridiculous adventures as the only IT guy in the small company providing cooking classes. It brought back plenty of good memories from when Lev and I used to share the tiny living space above the café and it would be a lie if I said it didn't make me feel better.

We restored the café before the end of the year, with help from everyone we could gather. It was reopened on the last Thursday of that December, marking it exactly 12 weeks since Kōshi had started working with us.

Also marking exactly 11 weeks since we had started dating.

On the day the café was reopened, I went to visit Daishō, who was still stuck at the hospital. Kuroo arrived from his work and picked me up at the café, from where we both took the bus there. It wasn't that he wanted to see Suguru himself, no. There simply always was someone trustworthy with me ever since Yaku and I had come up with that disturbing conclusion.

It was Inuoka who brought up the idea, but it was clear that it wasn't just him who had been thinking about it, and as the investigation was in progress, everyone made sure I was not alone.

Those were always people I was fond of — Kuroo, Lev, Yaku, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, Kenma — and Kōshi, obviously — and under any other circumstances, I would be happy to gave them around. The thing was, we all knew why they were following me everywhere, and that knowledge was hanging above our heads like heavy, rainy clouds.

“I'll just wait here,” Kuroo said, pulling off his hat and plopping down onto a sofa in the hospital lobby. “I don't have _getting dissed by a shitcrawler_ anywhere on my schedule today.”

I stuck out my tongue at him and got into the elevator along with one nurse.

Daishō was laying in his bed with an open book resting his face cover-up. He seemed to be sleeping, but he scowled and removed it when he heard footsteps. He raised his eyebrows at me and didn't bother to sit up, choosing to simply roll onto his side instead.

“Ooh? Let me guess, today your minion is Kuroo?” Daishō grinned viciously. “He's too scared to see me?”

“Something like that.” I sighed, handing him a paper bag. “Plum cake.” I sat at the stiff chair by his bed and observed him intently. “You look better.”

“Sure, victory over a pussycat makes me healthier.” Daishō snorted.

“Except… why did they move you to the long-term floor?”

“I don't want to talk about it.” He shrugged, unpacking the bag with far too much focus for it to look natural. “'s got cinnamon?”

“Yeah.” 

I frowned, watching him. He did look better. His gaunt cheeks were a fraction less hollow and the bags under his eyes were less pronounced, but a person did not stay in a hospital for more than a week if the injury was, as the doctor said, not threatening whatsoever. Adding to that Daishō hated talking about his problems…

“Mhmm, this feels a bit like Seoul now.” Daishō smirked and ran his fingers through his short hair. “Just the company is uglier.”

“Oh, fuck off.” I rolled my eyes. “By the way…” I paused.

_Should I actually ask him that?_

“You are about to ask what Sugawara was doing in Korea.” Daishō rolled his eyes as well, finally sitting up and shoving his hand in the bag. “But you are a goody-two-shoes and you don't know if you should hear it from me or rather from himself. Which means that there is some shit going down that you are worrying about and you think it's got something to do with that. Which also means you are chickening out from asking Sugawara by yourself. Well then, let me do the job for you.”

“Wa—”

“He was a transfer student, that's all I know.” He stuffed a piece of cake in his wide-open mouth, kind of like snakes would gulp down on an entire prey. Fortunately, Daishō knew that humans should chew.

“I was in deep shit then, so I didn't pay much attention. Not that I would be interested in the first place,” he said once he swallowed the piece. He frowned, slipping his hand in the bag again. “Though I recall that he kind of changed at some point. He used to be a make-me-vomit cheery guy almost all the time, and one day he got all quiet and aloof. Weirdo.” Daishō scratched his neck. “But then that bitch landlady kicked us out for being explicitly Japanese, and that was the last time I saw him until this month.”

There were plenty of questions swimming around my head after what he said, but the first one to leave my mouth wasn't about Kōshi.

“For being Japanese?” I repeated.

“In Koooo. Reeeee. Aaaaa,” Daishō spoke slowly and cleanly, like he was explaining something to a very stupid toddler.

“Yeah, I got that part,” I scoffed. “But didn't you say that you were living there for a couple of months? Why would she throw you out after so long like that?”

Daishō shoved another cake in his mouth.

“Like fuck I care,” he replied while still chewing. “But I think some shit went down a week before then? Some Japanese dude fucked shit up.”

“In that flat?”

“No, at some school or something. I don't know. Who the fuck cares. She was a bitch either way. Always said no smoking, but she was having one every fucking 10 minutes.”

I leaned back in the uncomfortable chair, pinching my lips.

“This doesn't have cinnamon,” Daishō complained. “Are you even listening?”

“There is cinnamon. Your taste is messed up, Suguru,” I mumbled. “Do you know anything more about it?”

“No.” Daishō rolled the empty bag into a ball and threw it perfectly into the garbage bin. “Didn't care, didn't ask. I had enough on my ass to deal with. Finding a new place to stay wasn't even at the top of the list.”

I let out a breath through my teeth.

“Will you stop dropping vague hints and tell me what's going on with you already?” I snarled, crossing my arms.

Daishō stared at me for a moment in gloomy silence. He looked like he regretted throwing the empty bag out. He started picking at the skin around his fingernails.

“I've got the same thing that my uncle had. Nasty shit.”

“You have an uncle?”

“Nope.” He rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. “I had.”

The short gaze he gave me afterwards was really, really tired.

“I'd eat some more cake, you know.”

“I'll bring you more tomorrow,” I said. 

I hesitated for a second, but then leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him in a careful hug. Daishō stiffened in shock. He patted my back awkwardly and when I pulled away, he turned his face away from me.

“Yeah. Thanks,” he muttered.

“I'll be back tomorrow.” I stood up, knowing well that he definitely wasn't going to look at me.

“Yeah. See ya.”

I glanced at him one more time only to see how he angrily wiped his face with his hands.

* * *

I barely paid any attention to whatever Kuroo was talking about — from what I gathered, it was some movie — while we were commuting back to the café. He eventually noticed that I was spacing away and he rubbed my head teasingly.

“Tanaka said that Kageyama and Hinata are going to visit next week,” he mused, refusing to give back my hat. “They were on the same team in high school,” he explained when I shot him a questioning gaze. “They are two idiots, kind of, but good spirited.” He grinned. “It's just that volleyball filled up all of their brains and there wasn't much space for anything else.”

He went on telling stories about high school matches he played against Karasuno until we got off the bus and we stopped at the café's door.

“See you la—” Kuroo's voice cut off abruptly. He stared over my head at something in the distance. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”

“Huh?” I glanced over my shoulder. There was a middle-aged woman marching on the other side of the street. I had never seen her before, but her appearance seemed somewhat similar…

“That's Yaku's mother.” Kuroo bit his lips and peeked in the opposite direction. I followed his gaze and pressed my hand to the side of my head.

We didn't manage to make a single move before Kenma, who was walking towards us, noticed Mrs. Yaku.

There was one thing about Kenma that most people wouldn't suspect him of whatsoever. While he usually was a pretty apathetic person and didn't care all that much about showing any kind of affection, he could change his attitude in a second when someone hurt his friends. He could get furious.

Mrs. Yaku was undoubtedly on his black list.

He halted in mid-step and stared at her blankly, unconsciously clenching his fists.

“Kenma!” Kuroo lurched towards him, but it was too late to stop the string of foul words that left Kenma's lips loudly enough to grab attention of every single pedestrian in proximity. Kenma slipped out of Kuroo's grasp and dashed across the street, stopping in front of a shocked Mrs. Yaku.

“What the fuck kind of a parent treats their child like that?” he jabbed, scowling in such a way that Murasakibara would reconsider approaching him. “Do you even fucking know what you did? Do you?! What kind of a shitty mother are you?!”

Mrs. Yaku watched with round-wide eyes as Kenma kept on sputtering accusations, louder and louder. She wasn't much shorter than him, but she seemed to be shrinking under his glare. She took a step back, but Kenma took two forward.

“How could you?!” Kenma yelled. People were crossing the street to avoid passing them close, some were slowing down to ogle the scene. “ _What the fuck is wrong with you?!_ You think he's fucked up?! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S FUCKED UP! YOU'RE THE DISGUSTING ONE!”

“Kenma, enough.” Kuroo put his hand on Kenma's shoulder from behind. His voice was shaky and he visibly didn't want to as much as peek at Mrs. Yaku. “She got the message.”

Mrs. Yaku was pale. She started walking backwards and when Kenma didn't follow her, she turned around without a word and nearly ran away, clumsily slipping on the ice.

Kuroo dragged Kenma back to the café's front door. Kenma was panting. His cheeks and ears were red, and his chin was shaking.

“I'll take him inside,” I said blankly. “Go to work, Kuroo. I've got this.”

Kuroo nodded and briefly squeezed Kenma's hand.

Kenma actually waited until Kuroo was out of sight before he let a small sob shake his shoulders. He hung his head low and allowed me to lead him inside, past the customers and to the small bedroom upstairs. We sat down by the kotatsu. I pulled off his shoes and took off my own as well and crawled over to place them on a shelf with a soaking rag splayed on the surface.

“Breathe slower,” I instructed him, doing my best to sound calm.

I was not calm.

“Slower, Kenma.” I helped him out of his winter jacket while tears were pouring down his cheeks and he muffled sobs in his hands. I held his shoulders to make him look at me. Kenma didn't like to be hugged by anyone but Kuroo, so as much as I wanted to hug him, I kept my distance. “Slower. You'll hyperventilate. Listen to me.” I slowly inhaled, paused, and let the air out. “Focus on breathing. Slow, slow. That's right. Slow.”

Kenma hiccuped and wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“Do you want to take a nap?” I asked gently. “How about an apple pie?”

“Nap,” he mumbled, reaching out to grab a box of tissues from the tabletop. “My head hurts.”

“All right.” I stood up to pull out his shared futon from the wardrobe, and I noticed Kōshi standing quietly on the other side of the threshold. He was frowning with worry, but he gave me an encouraging smile before he returned downstairs.

I rolled out the futon and then covered Kenma with the duvet. He sank down into it until only the top of his head was visible. The pillows and the rest must have smelled at least a little like Kuroo and I hoped that it would help him to calm down to the last bits.

I sighed, wriggled out of my coat, and slipped into the lighter shoes I wore for work. I texted Kuroo while I made my way down to the café and to the back room, to tie my apron.

“Some Thursday this is,” I muttered under my nose, fixing my hair.

“Is he okay?”

I jolted in surprise and peeked over my shoulder at Kōshi. I sighed again and scratched my forehead.

“More or less. In his standards.”

Kōshi closed the door and walked over to me.

“I haven't said hello,” he murmured, scooping my hands in his. 

“Hello.” I giggled, tilting my head up to peck him at the corner of his lips.

“Hello yourself,” he replied, raising my hand to leave a little kiss on it. He narrowed his eyes and grinned. “You really messed up your hair now…” He gently tousled my hair with his fingers, poking his tongue a bit in concentration. “There.”

“Thanks.” I sighed one more time, but on a happier tone. “Work.”

“Work.” He cracked his neck from side to side and averted his gaze. “It's my shift with the cats tonight.”

“Oh?” I glanced at him thoughtfully. Of course I had known it was his shift. With new locks and an alarm installed, staying the night at café was much safer these days, so… “You wouldn't happen to have some spare time for some company, perhaps?”

Kōshi smirked in a way that was _this close_ to turning my legs into jelly.

“Perhaps I have…?”

We left the back room. I winked at Yamaguchi, who was standing at the counter, and then I ventured into the kitchen.

“Perhaps?” I repeated with teasingly raised eyebrows.

Kōshi brought a crate of apples from the pantry and started moving the apples into the sink.

“Well, that depends on many factors. Who is the company? What would we do?” 

“Hmm, what would we do indeed?” I wondered, pretending to be deep in thought.

Kōshi made an exaggerated thoughtful face as well. He started filling the sink with water to wash the fruits and I pulled out a knife to prepare for slicing them. I left it on the counter and turned my head to look at him, but I realised that he wasn't standing by the sink any more.

“I do have a couple of ideas,” he purred right into my ear. He was standing so close that I could almost-almost sense his chest at my back.

“Do you, now?” I whispered.

He rested his hands on my hips. The quiet “obviously” he gave me in reply felt more like a hot exhale against the shell of my ear than an actual word and I had to put my hands on the counter to keep myself standing.

Big mistake.

My left ring finger collided with the knife. I was so preoccupied that at first I didn't notice, not until I briefly glanced at it, and then had to do a double-take.

It was bleeding. A lot.

Kōshi jolted. He grasped my hand and lifted it up, looking around in bewilderment, probably to find anything to cover the cut and prevent it from bleeding on everything around.

“Crapcrapcrapcrap—”

He shoved it in his mouth.

“You… what…?” I uttered. The whole thing happened in maybe three seconds and my brain hadn't caught up yet when Kōshi gestured towards a small shelf with the first aid kit that was right next to the back door. 

We started cautiously walking towards it. We barely made two steps when the café hall's door opened and Yamaguchi peeked through the crack. Once he saw us — facing each other, with my finger halfway deep in Kōshi's mouth — he tilted his head with one eyebrow raised.

“… okay.” He nodded and closed the door.

We stared at each other.

Kōshi quickly took care of the cut after he made sure that it wasn't too deep.

“This was stupid. Sorry,” he muttered, sticking a wide, blue band-aid on it. He was so focused on the task that he might have not noticed how many times he licked his lips, but I sure did. There was still a small trace of my blood on his bottom lip and instead of wiping it off, he sucked on it until it was clean.

_Oh boy._

“Kōshi…” I started. He glanced at me. “Mm, never mind. I'll ask you later.” I tucked a stray strand of his hair behind his ear and stuck out my tongue. “You're not the only one at fault here. We're both morons.”

“Yamaguchi must be traumatised,” Kōshi said. We went back to preparing the apples. “I wonder what he's thinking now.”

“Don't be so sure.” I rolled my eyes. “When it comes to _traumatising_ , Kuroo and Kenma have the lead. Although… I'm probably the only one that knows too much.”

“Just how much is too much?” Kōshi asked slowly, with a caution of someone about to step on an old rope bridge.

“You don't want to know.” I took out cooled raw dough from the fridge and began layering it in several round baking forms. “Kuroo used to ask me for advice about so many kinks that I still have war flashbacks. He said it was for science.”

Kōshi snorted.

“What was the weirdest one?”

“I'll spare you the horror.” I sighed. 

The rest of the afternoon passed calmly (save for Lev tripping over Sneezer and dumping a tray of dirty dishes on the floor), so I had the time to ponder over my suspicions and how should I bring it up.

Kōshi was taking another order from Murasakibara when Yamaguchi leaned to my ear behind the counter.

“What was that about, earlier?”

“Did you make a bet with Tsukishima?” I asked blankly.

“Yes.”

“I don't want to know the details.” I smoothed out my apron. “The landlady called me yesterday evening. I'll have to move out my furniture before the end of the year. What a pain in the ass.”

“Tsukki's neighbour has a delivery truck,” Yamaguchi said. “He runs an electronics shop. I think we could ask him for help? It'd be still cheaper than hiring some company.”

“I still need to find a flat for myself first,” I muttered. “It's difficult to find anything good here. All nice spots are taken.”

I glanced outside. Snow was twirling in the air, easy to notice in the orange light from the street lamps. 

“I've just realised,” Yamaguchi spoke up, idly watching as Murasakibara was devouring an entire plate of gingerbread cookies. “It's been a while since I've seen Masasumi.”

“Not complaining,” I mumbled with a scowl.

Kōshi left the kitchen to join us and I smiled at him.

“Yeah.” Yamaguchi chuckled. “The last time I saw him was that day Tsukki and I went to the cinema. Remember? He sat at a table next to us and spoiled the entire movie. I wanted to grab that crappy red jacket of his and strangle him with it.”

“You can't just go around strangling people, Yams.”

“Watch me.”

“Did you say that Masasumi had a red jacket?” Kōshi asked. 

“Yeah. Almost the same ugly shade of red that Lev picked for your kitchen,” Yamaguchi turned to me, scrunching up his nose.

“And he's tall, isn't he?” 

Yamaguchi stared at him in confusion, but I caught up and felt my hands go cold.

“I guess…?” Yamaguchi frowned, glancing there and back between Kōshi and me. “Taller than me. Maybe around Tsukki's height?”

Silence fell. I ran my gaze around the room, trying to collect thoughts. An old lady was reading a newspaper and stroking Sneezer, four teenagers were giggling about something at the table by the window, a young couple was being cute. Murasakibara was slowly chewing on another cake, observing us with no apparent interest in his half-covered eyes.

“I'll call Inuoka,” Kōshi said quietly. I nodded.

“I'll check on Kenma.” 

I stepped into the kitchen to get a slice of apple pie and dragged myself upstairs. It seemed that Kenma was still sleeping; only his hand and tips of his hair were sticking out from underneath the duvet. 

I left the pie on the tabletop and covered it with a cat-proof glass cloche and was about to leave the room when Kenma's head emerged to the surface. He looked at me sleepily, squinting his eyes so much that I wondered if they were open at all.

“Will you tell Morisuke?” he muttered.

“Do you want me to?” I asked gently. I sat on my heels on the floor next to him.

“… no,” he droned after a moment of hesitation. “I'll try to tell him myself.”

“You can do it.” I gave him a small smile. “You've already gave his mother a lot to think about, this won't be that scary.”

Kenma mumbled something too incoherent to decipher, he sat up, and grabbed the pie.

“What time is it?”

I glanced at the digital clock, only to see that it wasn't showing anything. The batteries must have died.

“We'll be closing soon,” I said with a shrug.

Kenma groped around under the duvet and pulled out his phone.

“Oh.” He rubbed his forehead and shoved a half of the pie slice into his mouth, barely chewing through it before he swallowed. “I'm two hours late to work.”

When I went back downstairs, Yamaguchi was locking up and Kōshi was already wiping the tables. Kenma slipped on his jacket and left through the back door after murmuring a goodnight. I brought a mop and a bucket from the back room, and then went to the kitchen to fill it up.

“Maaan, I'm beat.” Yamaguchi stretched and yawned. “The couple next door got back from a hospital with a baby yesterday and I'm experiencing a second-hand fresh parent insomnia.”

“Why don't you stay at Tsukishima's?” Kōshi asked, blowing out the last table candle. “Babies usually get quieter after a couple of weeks.”

“Tsukki's palace is one tiny room and a tiny bathroom.” Yamaguchi sighed. “You wouldn't even fit a mouse there.”

“You can ask Lev, too. If you don't mind having your wet hair freeze into icicles after shower.” I stuck out my tongue at him. Yamaguchi stared at me hopelessly.

“It doesn't sound all that bad…” He pouted and scratched his head.

“And speaking of which, I really have to find a new flat, the last one I viewed was, um…” I rolled my eyes. “I could've installed a windmill inside and cash in on it big time. Not even Lev's house is that draughty.”

“About that,” Kōshi spoke up slowly, “our landlady is moving out to some separate house, so she'll be looking for someone to rent her old place. I can tell her you're interested, if you want.”

Yamaguchi observed me with wide, obscenely happy eyes. He suddenly looked like he won a lottery.

Or a bet.

“Is it any good?” I asked. “I guess if it's landlady's flat, it must be not so bad.”

“I didn't get to see too much of it,” Kōshi said. “But the whole building is in a good condition.” He bent down to catch Sneezer. “No smoking and no loud noises allowed.”

“And she had no problems with Tanaka?” I tilted my head to the side. “I mean, older ladies are not exactly fond of the shaved head — piercings — tattoos combo.”

“She's not that old.” Kōshi snorted. “Funny you'd mention it. She actually asked him if she could draw a character based on him. You know, a yakuza-looking guy who's a veterinarian? Primary suspect for a cliché fictional character.”

“A character? She's drawing manga?”

“Yeah. Tanaka was so happy that he agreed right away.” Kōshi smirked. “He still has no idea she draws only yaoi.”

Yamaguchi and I stared at him with jaws dropped.

“… I have to see it,” Yamaguchi uttered. “I'll die. But I have to.”

All the cats were staring in shock as the three of us howled with laughter and cleaned at the same time.

We were done in half an hour. Yamaguchi waved goodbye and we were left alone in the dimly lit room, leaning on the counter next to each other and looking at the falling snow outside. The music was still on, this time some kind of old Western jazz and it didn't take long for Kōshi to catch my hand and grin at me.

“Care for a dance?” 

It started becoming a tradition by now, whenever either of us was on cat watch shift.

“Of course,” I murmured, squeezing his hand back. We set off like we usually did, in that half-dance pose half-hug.

“How's your finger?” he asked quietly, gently stroking circles over my knuckles with his thumb.

“Itchy.” I tucked my head under his chin.

“Sorry about that.” He sighed. “That was seriously stupid and dangerous.”

“Knives in proximity don't make the safest environment, yeah.” I snorted. “But it's not like I'm without a fault here either. You can kiss it better.”

Kōshi chuckled and raised my hand to his lips.

“Owie-owie, go away,” he hummed between leaving little kisses on it, making me giggle. “You know…” he trailed off. I pulled back a little to look at him. He glanced briefly at me and then averted his eyes, biting his lips.

“No, wait.” He leaned my head on his shoulder and buried his face in my hair. “Okay. Sorry,” he muttered awkwardly. “I'm, uh…” He gulped. “I wanted to say. Something.”

We were pressed to one another enough for me to notice that his pulse was way too fast from simple slow turning in circles.

My eyes went round.

“Kōshi—” I started, but was cut off.

“I'm definitely in love with you.” He took a deep breath. “And, um, well… I— I really hope that this re— that this could be long-term. Really long-term. I— if you'll have me.”

I let go of his hand to wrap both of my arms around him and hug him tightly, to hide my face in his shoulder and nod more times than it was even necessary for an answer.

Kōshi exhaled in relief and rested his cheek on top of my head, moving his hand that I had abandoned in mid-air to stroke my hair.


	8. Useless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you get a glimpse into what makes Sugawara tick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am here. (ღ′◡‵) I was planning to finish this chapter almost two weeks ago, but things happened. BUT I'm here now and finally, here comes this wild ride of a chapter. Brace yourself.
> 
> AND LOOK AT THAT, we're past 50K words! (TヮT)

I had no idea how much time had passed, but it was enough for me to determine that walking upstairs was not easy while making out at once.

Or at least I would have noted it if my brain was working properly.

I half-opened my eyes and glanced to the side, carding my fingernails through Kōshi's hair while he trailed kisses down my throat.

“H— hey,” I uttered, breaking into a small gasp when he left a light bite at the crook of my neck and shoulder. I giggled. “Five— five steps more.”

“Progress,” Kōshi murmured, pulling my collar aside to nibble along my clavicle. He lifted his head to meet my lips again, sinking into another messy, wet kiss, licking, pressing, stealing and swallowing breaths. 

Four steps.

Hands were wandering anywhere and everywhere they could reach, tugging hair, stroking cheeks, scratching shoulders, clenching at the waist, pressing at the small of the back, but still keeping from diving underneath the clothes or touching more intimate spots.

Three steps.

Kōshi nuzzled my cheek and purred my name right into my ear in such tone that I genuinely did not understand how I still was able to stand upright. Then it hit me that at that moment I didn't have to struggle with it, supported between the wall and Kōshi himself. I tilted my head up, letting him make one more hickey at the side of my neck.

Two steps.

“You are beautiful,” he whispered, tracing my sides with his hands and burying his face in my hair. “Breathtaking…” He kissed my forehead “… stunning…” He kissed the tip of my nose “… perfect…”

I cupped his cheeks and pulled him into a slow, searing hot kiss. Kōshi inhaled sharply through his nose and ran his fingers down the nape of my neck, along my shoulder—

One more.

I stumbled a couple of steps backwards, clinging to him, and then I somehow ended up on my back on the floor, not paying any attention that the tatami were not the softest surface to lay on. Kōshi leaned over me, our legs tangled, arms cradling each other, lips and tongues sliding, lungs begging for air, hearts racing like no tomorrow.

Kōshi rested his forehead against mine, stroking my cheek with topside of his fingers, panting. I turned my head to kiss his knuckles and opened my eyes. He was smiling so warmly that my heart melted all over again.

“We've made it,” he murmured, laying on his side and pulling me into a tight hug.

“Took a while.” I giggled, tucking my head under his chin. I nuzzled his neck and kissed the dark red mark I had left on his skin somewhere between step 3 and 5.

Kōshi shuddered and sank his fingers into my hair.

“The floor here is surprisingly comfortable,” he pointed out hazily. His hands moved from the back of my head to my waist.

“Maybe at your spot,” I mused. “But I'm not moving from here any time soon.” I shuffled back a little to face him and traced my thumb along his lips.

“Or are you?” Kōshi smirked, getting a hold of my hips to flip me onto my back again. He pressed his knee between my legs and left a line of sloppy kisses down my throat.

“I'll get the futon,” he whispered between nipping at my collarbone.

“Just one?” I asked teasingly.

“Just one, just one.”

“How bold.”

“Oh, please.” Kōshi definitely rolled his eyes and I didn't even have to see it to be sure. “By the way…” 

He lifted his head to look at me. His cheeks were still a little pink.

“I recall you wanted to tell me something earlier today?”

My own cheeks suddenly burned red. Kōshi's eyes widened at my reaction and his blush deepened.

“Ye— yeah,” I uttered, wondering if it was a good idea after all. I glanced away and took a quick, deep breath. “I kind of… noticed… um…”

“Noticed…?”

“We— well…” At that moment I wanted to back-pedal. “Like when I got that papercut at the cinema, and— and that time Ponpon scratched my hand, and today with that cut, too…”

Kōshi frowned, visibly confused.

“You… like…” I took one more deep breath. “… blood… right?”

Kōshi blinked and his face went from flushed to pale.

“I… what?”

His gaze turned slightly unfocused for a couple of seconds; he seemed to be replaying in his mind the mentioned events. Then he rolled onto his back and hid his face in his hands, staring at the ceiling through the cracks between his fingers. 

My stomach shrank to a size of a chestnut and I regretted bringing the whole thing up. It obviously seemed like the thought hadn't occurred to him at all before.

“There's nothing wrong with that,” I said quickly. Kōshi turned his head a little to look at me between his fingers.

“I'd say there's plenty wrong with _that_ ,” he replied. “Holy…”

His voice was shaking. I tried to gently move his hands away, but he kept them in place, so I stroked his hair instead.

“Like I've said—” I started, but he cut me off.

“I'll never do that again.”

_He's shocked._

“Kōshi,” I said softly, “I mean it.”

“This isn't me,” he uttered. “I'd never do anything like that to… get… off. I'd never hurt you. Absolutely not. No way.”

“Kōshi.” I brushed his hair aside and kissed his forehead. “You can act on it or not, and either is okay as long as it's kept safe. That's all there is to it.” I gave him a slightly smug smile. “And by the way, from the list of kinks I know, it's hardly that wild.”

“Huh…?”

“Kuroo's _research for science_ ,” I reminded him.

“That puts some perspective on why you said you'd spare me the trauma,” Kōshi mumbled blankly. “But I'm still… seriously… uh…”

“It's not like you can choose what your subconscious makes you turned on,” I said with a shrug. “And like I've said, as long as it's kept on the safe side, there's nothing wrong with it.” I smiled at him with half-lidded eyes. “I'd say it's rather exciting to see you've got an unexpected side like that.”

“Is it now,” Kōshi muttered. He sighed heavily and finally uncovered his face. “I think I need to wrap my head around this first.”

“No hurry.” I placed a kiss on the corner of his lips. “Um… my leg feels like there are ants crawling all over it.”

Kōshi laughed, relieved about the change of subject. We rolled out the futon and then started watching a movie.

He wasn't paying much attention to it, deep in thought and with an absent gaze.

* * *

Light was shining right at my closed eyes. I scrunched up my face and pressed it into nearest available surface.

“Mhhh, morning…”

I received a slow, gentle kiss on top of my head. I sighed through my nose and tucked myself closer, nuzzling Kōshi's shoulder.

“Morning,” I mumbled, stroking his back over his tank top. “What time is it?”

“The clock dropped dead,” Kōshi droned. “But I think Lev opened the café already.”

My eyes shot wide open.

“Late!” I scrambled to sit up, running my fingers through my hair.

“Probably. But we've got the day off, remember?” Kōshi turned onto his back, looking at me with half-lidded eyes and a sleepy smile. His grey hair sticking in all directions only made him look cuter. “And I'm taking you on a date.”

I sat cross-legged, rested my elbow on my knee and my chin on my hand, smiling back at him.

“Is that so?” I stroked his hair to fix that ridiculous bedhead and he closed his eyes with a content sigh.

“Mhmmmm,” he hummed with a small nod. “I can also take you to have a look at that flat, if you want.”

“Yeah, I'd like that.” I moved my hand from his hair to cup his face instead and leaned down for a kiss. Kōshi smiled against my lips, he obviously must have been expecting it.

“Where have you been all my life, honestly…” he murmured, stroking my cheeks with his thumbs.

“Hmm, well…” I trailed off. 

Kōshi opened his eyes and stared at me with one eyebrow raised in amusement.

“You're going to trample over my subtle yet spectacular romantic mood attempt, aren't you?” He grinned. I stuck out my tongue at him.

“Well…” I made a thoughtful face, framing my chin between my thumb and index finger. “I used to live in Kyoto, then my family moved to Osaka, and then I went to study in Tokyo, from high school onwards. And here I am, still in the same city.”

“So that's why I could hear that hint of Kansai accent in your voice,” Kōshi remarked.

“Huh? It's still noticeable? It's been 10 years since I moved here.”

“I'm kidding.”

“I'll tickle you.”

“Yeah, right.” He snorted. “Bite me.”

“Really?” I asked, smirking.

Kōshi realised what he had just said. He blinked and his face immediately turned pink.

“How is it that I embarrass myself three times more often than usual when you are around?” he whined.

“Said the one that bit me like ten times yesterday and got bitten by me in return as well,” I drawled.

“Stop being nasty.”

I paused.

I was laughing out loud before I could stop myself. Kōshi groaned in defeat.

* * *

The snow was falling from the sky like a first level ice age.

The part of the city we were striding through was not so dense, slightly uphill, filled mainly with low blocks of flats, some seldom standalone houses, and an occasional shop. There must have been a school nearby, since at one point we passed a whole group of middle school kids returning home after classes.

“We had the same uniforms in my middle school,” Kōshi mused in a sentimental voice.

I was wholeheartedly grateful for moving in Tokyo when I could scoot closer to Kōshi under one umbrella and not provoke any averse glares with it, something that outside of such a huge metropolis wouldn't be that easy to achieve.

Kōshi must have thought something similar, since he moved his arm a little, inviting me to hook my hand at his elbow.

“Living in a big city sure has its pros,” he said with a grin. 

I hummed in agreement, walking alongside him as close as possible without making any of us trip over each other's feet. I huffed out a white cloud with my exhale and pouted.

“Just what kind of winter is this? This isn't Hokkaido,” I muttered, catching myself in the last second before I almost started swinging the bag I had been carrying. Plum cake for Daishō didn't exactly require any extra shaking.

“Well, at least I get to see you in that cute hat.” Kōshi glanced sideways to me.

“You can eat the hat, I just want some reasonable weather.” I pouted even more.

“I'd rather eat something else of yours.”

Had I been drinking tea, I would've spat it out three metres forwards. I wasn't cold any more. The hat might have kept my head from exploding.

“You better remember this, because I sure will,” I said with a voice that was a bit higher pitched than I expected.

“Hmm? I don't think I'd be able to forget even if I wanted to,” Kōshi said lightly, giving me another sideways glance.

I remembered how weeks ago — months now, in fact — I had thought that there was nothing that could make Kōshi more astonishing than I had already seen him be. Once again, I was absolutely proved wrong.

_Talk about development._

“Was that too forward?” Kōshi mumbled awkwardly.

_Some things stay the same, though. But that's good, too._

“No.” I giggled. “I was just remembering how I used to think that you were a totally pure and innocent guy.”

Kōshi was quiet for at least ten seconds. Then he snorted. Then he chuckled a little, though if we weren't in public, I suspected that he'd be laughing out loud.

“Good one,” he said.

“I know.” I bit my lips.

“Aaand… this is the place.” Kōshi cleared his throat, slowing down his steps to a halt.

I followed his gaze and then had to pray for peace of mind.

“It's… um…”

“Yeah.” Kōshi cracked up and had to stifle a laughing fit. “From the outside, it might be the most hideous building in Japan.”

“Well, the door is nice,” I pointed out.

It was nice. 

Probably the _only_ nice feature of the house's façade.

“And once the Spring comes, the trees will cover it up until late Autumn,” he added. “At least most of it, that raging purple is rather tough to miss either way.”

“… I need to bring Murasakibara here and take a photo of him in front of this monstrosity.” I stared at the house with wide eyes. “The colours match.” I took a deep breath to thoroughly calm myself down and prevent any spontaneous giggles. “Shall we go inside, then?”

“Yeah. It's way better inside, I promise.” Kōshi closed the umbrella and unlocked the door.

The inside was very purple as well.

But the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that in comparison with the façade, the entrance hall was fairly pleasant.

“The landlady doesn't have _murasaki_ in her name, does she?” I mumbled, following Kōshi upstairs.

“Surprisingly, no.” He snickered. “Oh. There she comes.”

We got to the first floor (which was the top floor at the same time) and I was a little disappointed.

The landlady was not purple at all.

“Good afternoon, Miss Yamamoto!” Kōshi flipped his full-sunshine-beam switch on. “This is the lady I talked to you this morning.”

Miss Yamamoto was the shortest adult I had ever met, including Mrs. Sakusa. She pushed her thick glasses up her nose and walked closer. Her short, fluffy, frizzy hair — the sort that you could see on plenty of 50- and 60-years-old ladies — jumped up and down slightly with each step.

“Good afternoon, good afternoon,” she replied in a bit toady voice. We exchanged introductions and she nodded thoughtfully. “I see, I see. You do seem to be that charming miss I listened about.” She rested her hand on her cheek and tilted her head with a dreamy smile. “What a cute, pure couple you are. I'm going to draw you in a background in my next chapter.”

_Right. She draws manga. I kind of expected her to be more extravagant-looking._

_… she does catch up with expectations in some other ways, though._

Both Kōshi and I tried not to react to being called _pure_.

“So you'd like to see the flat, yes?” She turned around and marched down the narrow corridor, ringing her keys. “Come, come. Do you have cat allergies?”

“No. I work in a cat café, actually,” I said politely, following her.

“Ah, of course, of course. Mr. Sugawara here mentioned that you are working together…” Her voice trailed off and she paused in her step and then began muttering under her nose to herself. “Cat café, a scary-looking boy brings a kitten found on a stormy day, gets hired by the handsome owner… working together, mutual pining, getting cut out of the world during a storm for a whole weekend, perfect opportunity to confess and then bang each other on every single table, and lots of adorable cats around, the owner's ex sees them, conflict ensues, oooh, I have to write this down.” She opened the door. “Come in, come in, Miss.”

The flat, thank heavens, wasn't drowned in purple.

It was light and bright and comfortable, a little bigger than my old one, and it had a small living room, something that I could only dream of after having moved out of my family house.

“Mame, Mochi, Matcha, Momo!”

I barely took a step inside the living room when four identical Siamese cats sprinted out from underneath the tiny kotatsu, tails raised on point, and began rubbing against everyone's legs. They wore no collars nor nothing that could distinguish one from another and I wondered whether Miss Yamamoto could actually discern them at all.

“Do you have any cats besides those in the café, Miss?” Miss Yamamoto squatted down to scratch one of her pets behind its ears.

“Just one. It's a white Turkish Angora.”

“Ooooh, such a majestic breed.” She put on her dreamy smile again. “Yes, yes, the dark-looking boy will bring in a Turkish Angora kitten on the rainy night,” she muttered to herself.

It appeared that Miss Yamamoto wholeheartedly enjoyed talking about cats, so without a single stain on my conscience I went in that direction.

_Who knows, maybe I could get a little discount on the rent. Or at least actually get the flat in the first place._

It went easier and faster than I had expected. An hour and a half later I had appropriate documents signed and approval to move my belongings to my new home in two days. I also promised to allow Tsukki to be a model for a day or two.

_He loves being the centre of the attention, so that won't be a problem anyway._

“So we are really going to live next door from each other now, hmm?” Kōshi said. He unlocked the door to his own flat. “I hope Tanaka didn't leave a mess behind him this time…” He cracked the door open and peeked inside. “All right, looks clear.”

I chuckled and followed him in.

Kōshi closed the door, turned the lock shut, grasped my shoulder, pressed me against the door, and locked his lips on mine so quickly that I couldn't help a small squeak of surprise and dropped the bag with Daishō's cake as well as my jacket that I had taken off back in Miss Yamamoto's flat. Kōshi cupped my cheek with one hand and licked into my mouth. I tugged at his hair and he inhaled sharply through his nose, I snaked my hands down his sides, to the hem of his sweater and already pulled it halfway up to take it off when—

“Yo, yer back earl— OH CRAP, I'M SORRY, I DI'N' SEE ANYTHING! It's dark in the hall! Freakin' dark! And I'm blind like a bat! I saw nothing!”

“Oh. Hi, Tanaka,” I uttered, hurriedly fixing my hair and reaching down for my jacket. Kōshi cleared his throat.

“Hi.” Tanaka peeked through one of the doors that I assumed were leading to the kitchen, if the layout of their flat was the same as Miss Yamamoto's. “I'll be leaving in three. Don't mind me, a'ight?” He grinned. “I overslept.”

“I just wanted to drop off my yesterday's clothes and pick up something, we're going to Ikebukuro,” Kōshi said quickly.

We left soon after Tanaka did, going back into the heavy snowfall and sticking to one another under the umbrella. We hadn't exchanged a word since that incident and only when we finally reached the train station, we started laughing.

Kōshi ran his hand down his face, still giggling a little.

“Volleyball practise is one thing, but he never oversleeps for work! Why today, of all times?”

We got onto the train and squeezed into the already full-packed space, pressed tighter against each other than most likely ever before. My back was plastered against the wall, and Kōshi's front was squished to mine; he balanced himself standing by keeping his hands on the wall at the both sides of my head and that was one serious kabe-don if I had ever seen one.

_I'm thinking like a hormonal high school kid, what the crap._

“So…” Kōshi leaned down to talk quietly right into my ear. His warm breath tickled my cheek and sent a light shiver down my spine. 

_For hell's sake, calm your tits, he's not even sounding seductively or anything._

“First, we make a stop at the hospital, right?” he asked, peeking at me out of the corner of his eye. “And then we go to the main train station and catch a train to Ikebukuro.”

“Ye— yeah.”

_You are so not going to try to cop a feel, you perverted woman, no, NO, do not think about this, this is a train, it's packed like a can of sardines, it's IN PUBLIC._

Somehow, my hand started slowly sliding up the side of his thigh and to his waist.

“That's not fair,” Kōshi uttered, slumping his head on my shoulder. “That is so not fair.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled awkwardly, shoving my hands into my pockets.

“I'm going to remember this, mhmm,” Kōshi teased. His voice was quiet and low, and gave me an impression of melting chocolate. He straightened up and gazed down to me with half-lidded eyes of that melting chocolaty colour and a faintest blush on his cheeks.

_Oh boy._

* * *

The visit we paid Daishō was cut short when he was called out for blood tests (that he didn't want to talk about), and a half of it Kōshi spent on getting tea for the three of us on Daishō's request — which eventually Daishō himself hadn't had time to drink.

He didn't really want to, though. As soon as Kōshi left the room, Daishō grabbed my shoulder and leaned in close, with eyes narrowed in distaste.

“Please tell me you've fucked already.”

“… excuse me?” I raised my eyebrows. It wasn't exactly out of character for him to be blunt, but this was a whole new level when it came to interactions with me specifically.

Daishō took one glance at my burning ears and he flapped down onto his bed.

“For fuck's sake…” he groaned. “Please do everyone a favour and do it already. This tension is making even _me_ frustrated. This is downright cringe worthy.”

We were one metro station before Ikebukuro when my phone buzzed and I peeked at a new message. It was from Daishō. It was very short.

[02:52 pm] Daishō: DO IT FFS  
[02:52 pm] Daishō: JUST DO IT

By some sort of miracle, Ikebukuro was devoid of falling snow and it even seemed that there was a chance of seeing some clear sky. It was, however, filled with people so densely that one had to have some serious icebreaker skills to navigate in the ever moving crowd. Kōshi laced his fingers with mine and then hid our joined hands in the pocket of his jacket with a little smile playing on his chapped lips.

We passed the park with that huge, tacky sculpture made of the word LOVE and other, smaller sculptures of creepy birds that were presently covered in a thick, white layer. Several gyaru teenagers were taking selfies in front of it and they glared at us like we were trespassing.

“Now then…” Kōshi cleared his throat. “We are almost there. I think.”

“You think?”

“Kuroo told me about this place. A colleague of his talked about it, and I thought…” Kōshi trailed off, like he suddenly started doubting his own idea.

“Whoa, are you seeing this?” I changed the subject, hoping it would cut his worries short. I stared at a huge sign above a door leading to one of the restaurants at the street we were walking along. “What kind of ridiculous concept is Russian sushi? _Russian? Sushi?_ ”

“That's…” Kōshi took a deep breath. “Well, I don't know whose idea was the restaurant itself but, uh, I was… well…”

_Oh, great._

_I dissed his date plan._

_Good job, me. Good job._

“I think it's pretty interesting, though,” I added quickly, dreaming of being swallowed up by the ground beneath my feet. “I mean, I've never considered mixing up stuff like this… um… oh, I think Lev mentioned it once, actually! What was it that he said…?” I frantically tried to remember what Lev did say about it, or if he did say anything in the first place.

“We— we can go to another place, really,” Kōshi offered immediately. “It's tough to say how will this stuff here taste, so—”

“Right! Lev said it was… unique…” I frowned. _Unique_ didn't have to mean _delicious_ when it came to food. “So I'm sure it will be fine. Come on.” I gripped his hand tighter and pulled him along.

The bell at the door rang and we were greeted by a very, very tall, and very, very scary looking foreigner.

“Welcome to Russia Sushi! Come, come, take seat!”

_No, wait. He's nowhere near as tall as Murasakibara. It's okay._

There was nothing threatening in his smile either — it was contagious, in fact. We were lead to a remote table in a small, open room, and assured that we'd be served with the chef's best, and that we'd get a discount.

Because Saimon, as the huge guy had introduced himself, _supported romance and young, pure couples going on dates_.

We got barley tea not even a minute later and finally had a moment to relax. I made sure my shoes were standing neatly before the tatami and that my jacket and hat didn't magically disappear from the hanger.

“It's a cosy place,” I said, still looking around. “I don't know about the food yet, but the atmosphere is pleasant.”

Kōshi sent me a tiny smile and scratched his neck awkwardly.

“I should've checked it out first,” he mumbled, occupying himself with the tea. I grasped his free hand across the table and stroked his knuckles with my thumb.

“I'm having lots of fun either way.” I grinned. “This day is quite something so far, isn't it?”

“Yeah…” Kōshi's face darkened and he narrowed his eyes theatrically. “But I'll have to have a word with Tanaka.”

I snorted.

“I got the impression that he must have been a funny person back in high school, wasn't he?”

Kōshi chuckled.

“Impossible to describe.” He tilted his head and his eyes seemed to be looking far away, to his memories. “Everyone on the team had their hilarious moments. I think Hinata and Kageyama took the cake.”

“Aren't those two the ones that are coming next week?” I asked.

“Are they?” Kōshi frowned lightly. “Yes, I think Yamaguchi mentioned something.” His face brightened up. “That should be fun. I haven't seen them since the summer after my high school graduation.” He glared at his barley tea. “I hope Hinata is still shorter than me. Let me save that last bit of a senpai's dignity.”

I giggled and he pouted at me.

“It's pretty annoying to have all the kōhai on the team taller than you, you know? Other than Hinata, only Noya has always been shorter than me. Except for _a libero_ that's nothing unusual. But I was a setter! Of all setters I've known personally, only Kozume is shorter than me…” He put down the cup and leaned his chin on his free hand. He grinned with a mixture of glee and sentiment in his eyes. “My last year of high school was a good one.”

“Hmm, I broke my leg a week before graduation,” I mused with a scrunched up nose. “I had to attend on crutches, with a cast up my knee.”

“Really?” Kōshi's eyes widened. “I broke my arm. Exactly five days before graduation.” His smile thawed to a sadder one and he sighed. “So I couldn't even play volleyball for the rest of the summer with the old team. You know, one last time or something. But…”

He looked me in the eyes warmly and turned his hand to entwine our fingers.

“But it was still a happy year. After that…” He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, but he hesitated. “After that, I went to—”

“Here go your order, please, enjoy.” Saimon and one more person carried in _lots_ of plates with _lots_ of different kinds of sushi, more than I could imagine I'd be able to eat in one sitting. Ever.

“It's good sushi, special for you, enjoy!” Saimon beamed at us before he and the other guy left.

“All right.” Kōshi's face took on such a determined look like he was about to fight a sea monster. “Some of those are normal, I think.”

“I feel brave today,” I said, giggling. “You live only once. Here I go.” I picked up a completely bizarre-looking roll and put it into my mouth.

I chewed, frowning.

“Are you okay?” Kōshi whispered. “What is it? How is it?”

I swallowed and pinched my lips.

“It's tasty,” I murmured, “but I have no bloody clue what's inside.”

“That's… that's good, yes?” he inquired tentatively. “Right?”

“See for yourself.” I smiled. Kōshi exhaled in relief.

It took us good two hours to get through most of what we were brought and although it was indeed delicious, I was sure I didn't want to as much as peek at sushi for the next six months, Russian or Japanese or whatever other kind.

We talked about the past, school and childhood memories, we shared hilarious stories and sentimental smiles. One time I caught Saimon's stare and he gave me thumbs up.

Kōshi didn't go back to whatever it was he wanted to say before we were interrupted. I felt it in my bones not to pry.

It was almost 6 PM when we paid up (way less than I had expected, even with the discount) and left to unhurriedly stroll hand in hand, towards the metro station. The streets were illuminated brightly by neon signs and lights from the shop windows, and lamps, leaving little shadow in the main paths, but making smaller alleys seem twice as dark as they probably were.

“Would you like to come here again?” Kōshi asked when we passed the horrid LOVE sculpture. One of the creepy-owl-infested clocks showed 6:08 PM. “Maybe after New Year?”

“I don't know if I can bear sushi so soon again.” I laughed. “It was awesome, but I don't usually eat that much.” I squeezed his hand briefly and glanced up at him. “But other than that, yes. I'd like that.”

We stepped out of the park to the streets again, bright buildings divided by scarcely appearing narrow side alleys. I was warm despite the freezing winter temperature, the amount of food I had eaten made me a bit light-headed and sleepy, but at the same time I could perfectly discern Kōshi's scent among other smells around me. I peeked at him again, just when we passed a blinding lit white sign of some newest fashion shop. It turned Kōshi's hair from its regular silver to nearly pearly white and gave the shapes of his face a stunning contrast, making his slanted eyes seem sharper and his lips curvier, and I was so engrossed in watching him that almost tripped over my own feet.

I blinked several times and took a deep breath, observing a white cloud escape my mouth with the exhale.

“Kōshi.”

“Hmm? What is it?” Kōshi gazed at me. Our linked hands were tucked in his pocket again and he rubbed his thumb over my palm.

“I really want to kiss you. Right now.”

Kōshi almost choked on his breath, looking around with wide eyes.

“Yeah. I know there are people around,” I muttered. “That'll have to wait a—”

He withdrew our hands from his pocket and he pulled me quickly into the nearest alley, barely a couple of steps from where we stood. When we were under the light from the street lamps, I couldn't see anything in the narrow spaces between the buildings, but when we actually ventured there a bit further and my eyes accustomed to the change, I discovered that it wasn't all that dark.

Kōshi backed me up to a wall and didn't waste a second before he smashed his lips over mine, and there was something so feral, so _hungry_ in it that I could lose my breath — if I hadn't lost it already.

“Remember… what you… did… on the train?” Kōshi murmured between leaving kisses all over my face. He pulled my scarf aside and scraped the side of my neck with his teeth. I gasped. I dug my fingers into his hair and tilted my head back.

“Yeah,” I stuttered. “What— what of it?”

“I'll give you… a hint…” Kōshi traced his index finger along my lower lip. “Of what I'm going… to do later… in response.” 

He skimmed my chin and pulled my lower lip down a little with his thumb before he pressed his mouth to mine again. His tongue slipped in between my teeth and I felt like I needed to take off my coat soon, or I'd boil with how high the temperature went. I withdrew a fraction back, panting.

“Kōshi… a bit more of this and you'll have to carry me,” I whispered breathlessly. “My knees are this close to turning into jelly.”

“Mhmm…” Kōshi hummed and left a light, soft kiss on my lips before he took a step back and pulled me away from the wall, right into his arms. I sank into the embrace, closing my eyes and struggling to regulate my breath and pulse.

“To be frank, I'd have difficulties with walking, too,” he murmured into my hair with a sigh.

“Yer might as well have 'em now, eh?”

I jolted. Kōshi's arms tightened around me and I stared over his shoulder.

Two men and one woman were standing between us and the distant patch of the bright main street. I twisted my head around to see two more people cutting away the other route.

“… what?” I rasped, unconsciously digging my fingernails into Kōshi's back.

“Can it, doll,” the woman droned in a bored tone. “Yer bag. And pretty boy's wallet. Hurry up. Either give 'em now or after we kick yer collective asses.”

Kōshi was shaking.

I could feel his heartbeat going so fast that it was a miracle he was still standing.

“Okay!” I called. “Okay! Here it goes!”

“Lookit that smart dolly.” The woman grinned and gave me thumbs up. “Doncha forget the wallet.”

I let my bag slide down from my shoulder and I gripped the strap, about to swing it and let it drop away from us.

There was a laugh and rapidly approaching footsteps from the direction opposite of the main street. A loud crash sounded from the same direction, then one more eruption of slightly unhinged cackle, and—

“IiiiiiiizaaaaaaaaaAAAYAAAAAAAA!!!”

A thin, dark haired guy in a parka jumped from behind the corner and dashed past the delinquents and us, giggling and grinning to himself.

“Shit.” One of the guys turned around. “Haul ass before—”

Right in the footsteps of the weird running man followed one with bleached hair. All five of the attackers suddenly scrambled in the opposite way and disappeared from sight.

The blond man was carrying _an entire huge metal post box_ and just like the one in the parka, he ran past us without taking any notice.

Snow started falling, I could see it in the light coming from the main street.

“What the fuck…?” I squeaked quietly. “Kōshi? Kōshi, are you okay?”

Kōshi didn't answer. His arms fell limp to his sides. I dropped my bag in the same moment when his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees onto the ground, gasping for air and pressing his hands to the sides of his head.

“I'm useless—” he choked out. “I'm al— ways— comple— tely— use— less—”

My heart clenched painfully.

_Wasn't that what he said when someone broke into the café?_

“Kōshi,” I called him gently, squatting down in front of him and carefully lacing my fingers through his to take his hands away from his head. “Kōshi, you are not useless. Kōshi, it's safe. You're safe. I'm safe. We're safe. It's o—”

“ _It's not!_ ” Kōshi shouted so suddenly that I almost lost my balance in shock. “It's not! And I didn't DO ANYTHING!”

_Is this a panic attack? Or shock? Or what is it?_

_What should I even do?_

My eyes widened. Tears were streaming down his horridly pale face. I squeezed his hands. I had no idea what to do and seeing him in such state made me want to cry, too. There was also the prospect of those robbers coming back. We really had to get back to the main street, wherever we could get into some regular crowd.

“Kōshi, it's okay,” I whispered, stroking his shaking hands with my thumbs. “Kōshi, Kōshi, it's all right now. We're all right. It's a—”

“What if they hurt you?!” Kōshi yelped. “I never do _anything_ when shit like this happens! I'M FUCKING USELESS!”

He tore his hands away from my hold so abruptly that one of his wavered and ended up smacking me in the face. I lost balance and fell backwards on my butt and back, hitting my elbow on the cold concrete.

“I'm—” Kōshi stopped mid-shout, staring at me with wide eyes. “ _Oh my god._ ”

I sat up, scowling, and cautiously touched my mouth. My eyes watered before I even processed what had happened. My lower lip hurt a lot and when I pulled my hand away, I saw a bit of blood on my fingers. At the sight of it something in my brain clicked, my chin shook, and I couldn't stop a small sob.

“I didn't—” Kōshi uttered. He reached out his hand and I flinched involuntarily. He let his arm drop back to his side and his breath hitched. “I didn't want— oh my god, I didn't want to hurt you, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—” He pressed his hand to his mouth and then shifted both to clench and tug his hair in his fists. “It was an accident,” he said in a breaking voice. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so—”

“Kōshi,” I whimpered. “You're back, right?”

He looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot and swollen, with a terribly painful expression. Anguish. Guilt. I reached out my arms to him and after a moment of hesitation, he shuffled closer and leaned into me. He slumped his head on my shoulder and wrapped his arms loosely around me with a shaky exhale. I stroked his hair, damp with melting snow, and realised with relief that he wasn't shivering any more.

“We should leave here,” I said softly. My voice was raw and humid. “And we'll talk when we get home, okay?”

Kōshi nodded and tightened his grip on me. We stood up slowly on unsteady feet and I took half a step back. I picked up my bag and hooked my arm at his waist while he surrounded my shoulders with his, people staring be damned. Kōshi glanced at my cut and he bit his lips, frowning dejectedly. He gently lifted my chin and traced his thumb over the wound with a feather-light tenderness.

“I'm sorry,” he said quietly.

“I know,” I muttered, wiping my cheeks with my free hand. 

We set off, one step after another, and walked back to the main street, and to the station, keeping to the livelier parts of the city, heads hung low, supporting each other's balance, ignoring the stares we were getting from other pedestrians. The trains after 7 PM were nowhere near as crowded as during the day and we somehow found two seats. We leaned onto one another, utterly exhausted, and gripped each other's hands in silence.

“Some day this was,” I remarked with a humourless giggle, letting off the last bits of tension.

Kōshi shook with an inaudible laugh. His head shifted against mine when he nodded.

“How about we stay home for New Year's?” he asked with amusement despite how tired he sounded.

“I'll invite you to my new place,” I offered, bringing up a half of a smile.

“I'm looking forward to it,” Kōshi murmured, stroking my hand.

Neither of us said anything through the whole ride, simply soaking into the closeness and slowly recharging. I dozed off at some point, but woke up right away when an automatic voice informed about approaching another station. Kōshi's breath was deep and steady, easily lulling me to sleep each time after the door closed and the train moved on.

I jolted awake when someone's phone beeped loudly, but then I discovered that it wasn't all that loud — it just happened to be really close to my ear. I scrunched up my face and blinked, trying to comprehend the perspective I was seeing. Kōshi's hand was idly stroking my hair and I came to realisation that I had been sleeping with my head on his lap.

I sat upright, feeling my face burn. I glanced around and closed my eyes in relief. The whole car was empty, save for one office worker and an elderly woman, neither of which were paying any attention to us.

Kōshi fished his phone out of his pocket and read whatever new message it showed, while he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me back to where I had been before I woke up.

“We still have two stations ahead,” he said while he was typing a reply, resuming stroking my hair. “You can sleep some more.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket and yawned. “Tanaka says he's staying overnight at the clinic.” He cleared his throat. “Would you… would you like to stay over?”

I smiled sleepily.

“Mm, that would be nice,” I mumbled.

“Five more stations, then,” Kōshi said. “Sixth station is ours.”

“Like in that movie,” I remarked.

“Wha— oh, Spirited Away.” Kōshi chuckled. “Yes, it was the sixth, too. I don't think I can turn into a dragon. I've never tried, though.”

“I guess even the most amazing person can have their limits, hmm?” I whispered. Kōshi's hand paused for a second. Then he sighed and continued stroking my hair.

The station clock rang two times when the digits turned to 8:30 in the same moment when the automatic doors closed behind us and the train set off. The snowfall had stopped and even through the town's light pollution I could see that the sky almost entirely cleared up. The cold stripped me out of any remaining sleepiness and when we started walking — like previously, with Kōshi's arm around my shoulders and mine at his waist — I switched into an alert state, wary of every detail in perimeter. Few people here were outside at this time of night, we barely encountered maybe a dozen on our way, and save for street lamps, there was little else that was lighting up the surroundings. Usually it would be a pleasant place to take a stroll through with a significant other at the side but the events from less than two hours ago were storming in my head anew, and there were too many dark corners in sight.

The only sounds reaching our ears were occasional cars, muffled voices from telly from some of the houses we passed by, and very, very distant, barely audible hum of the livelier parts of the city. Or maybe the last one was just my imagination.

The nasty purple of Kōshi's house lost its edge in the yellow light of the street lamps, turning into a warmer, friendlier tone. Kōshi unlocked the door we stepped inside, engulfed in warmer air in the unlit hallway, although in comparison it likely wasn't even a half of regular room temperature. A row of paper lanterns switched on when we stepped over the threshold.

Kōshi closed the door and sighed.

“We made it.” He smiled tiredly at me and took my hand to pull me upstairs. “Please don't mind the noise from Tanaka's room. He's got four rats.”

Their shared flat had an unknown, but homely smell, and I could discern Kōshi in it. And coffee. It made me think about what kind of horrid black-hole-density coffee Kōshi usually was drinking and it perfectly fit into the picture.

We took off the outerwear and shoes and I was lead to the daily room. While I sat down at the kotatsu — It was as small as the one in the café — Kōshi switched the heater on and left briefly, only to come back with a first-aid kit.

I laughed.

“It's not that serious, come on,” I said, resting my elbows on the tabletop. “It doesn't hurt almost at all either. I cried because I was scared from what happened earlier, not because I was in pain or anything.”

“Please,” Kōshi asked quietly. “Just in case.”

“Okay, then. That's reasonable.” I shuffled around to face him and he sat down on his heels in front of me, putting the box next to him.

_If that's what it takes to calm him down a little, then okay. It's not like it's a bother or anything anyway._

The cut was tiny and only a bit swollen, and it stung more than how it had actually hurt on its own when Kōshi touched it carefully with a piece of cotton with antiseptic on it. Kōshi skimmed the pads of his fingers over my face, like he was searching for any other injuries.

“I'm really sorry,” he whispered, staring at the floor.

“Kōshi,” I said softly, “it was an accident. And you also were in shock. Or… something,” I mumbled awkwardly. “I don't know much about this stuff.”

“That's an explanation, not an excuse.” Kōshi bowed his head and bit his lips.

“I think it might be a bit of both.”

I pulled him into a hug. We lay on the floor, cuddled to one another, our lower halves under the kotatsu.

“So, about… that,” he muttered after a long while. “It's, well. Kind of stupid really. Nothing tragic happened or anything. Nothing huge and traumatising. It's just…”

He took a deep breath. 

“In Korea. I was a transfer student there. Right after I got into the university. It was nice for the first four months, people were friendly, the place was nice, too. Oh, yeah, that's where I met Daishō. After my transfer term ended, I applied for an extension, but I had to find my own flat instead of living in the dorms."

Kōshi rolled onto his back and I wriggled after him, resting my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arm and leg around him.

“And three months later…”

He went quiet. I waited, idly stroking his chest through his sweater with my thumb.

“There was kind of a similar situation.” Kōshi let out a breathless, humourless chuckle. “I didn't do anything to stop it. Nothing. It was scary, but then it was discovered to be an idiotic prank, and at first I let it out of my memory, but a couple of days later Daishō and I, and a couple of other Japanese people were thrown out of the place we were staying at. That whole situation at the university spread around the city, and the landlady wasn't so fond of Japan in the first place.”

He paused. 

“I think that was when it really started getting to me. I guess I was sure I could do something to prevent getting thrown out of there, and I kept telling myself that yet I didn't do anything. Over and over, and every time something happened, that thought always came back. It comes back. Always.”

He caught my hand and laced our fingers together.

“And after some time it started going the other way around, too. I freeze up and really do become useless.”

“You are absolutely not useless, Kōshi,” I said quietly. “Everyone knows that.”

“You know that?”

“I know that.”

“I'll remember it,” he murmured. “I doubt it'll get into my brain very soon, but I'll remember.” He moved my hand to his lips and kissed the pads of my fingers, one after another. He giggled. “I think you're going to swim in my pyjamas.”

“Yep.”

I really did.

Kōshi ran his eyes up and down my figure when I stepped out of the bathroom, sleeves of dark blue, chequered blouse extending below my fingertips and bottoms rolled up three times to show my feet.

“I suddenly feel much taller,” he admitted with amusement. I stuck out my tongue at him.

Kōshi's bed was a little narrow for two people, but that was all the more reason to cuddle close. There was no street lamp directly facing the window, so the room was as dark as the one at Lev's house, and unlike earlier this evening, this dark was somewhat comforting. I was warmly tucked under the winter duvet, limbs entangled with Kōshi's, and he cupped my cheek in his hand, stroking my skin with his thumb.

“Hey, Kōshi,” I hummed, covering his hand with mine.

“Mmm?”

“I'm in love with you, too.” I smiled, even though he couldn't see it. “I somehow didn't get to say it yesterday.”

“Oh. Yeah. You didn't. Indeed.” Kōshi sounded like someone punched him in the gut. He sighed and leaned his head closer to gently brush his lips against mine, probably wary of my cut. He kissed the corner of my mouth and sighed again. “I'm happy.”

I closed my eyes and briefly squeezed him tighter. Kōshi nuzzled my hair and that was how we slowly drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you used to people's cameos? Well then, have a cameo of an entire freaking restaurant. ( e _ e)  
> And so I ask myself: 50K words and where the fuck is that murder?  
> I named Miss Yamamoto after Yamamoto Kotetsuko-san, who is one of the very few mangaka drawing healthy BL out there.  
> The next chapter will be about the New Years!
> 
> Edit: Well, it is not about the New Years. Fuck me and my planning.


	9. The back alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you realize that boring daily life filled with routine isn't all that bad when you compare it to other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… I'm back to life, more or less. I want to crawl under a rock and die when I see how long it took me to update this story, but here is the longest chapter I've written yet to compensate a bit. And a lot of things happens in it, too. I admit that this chapter is a bit of a mood roller-coaster. 
> 
> Thank you for still sticking with me. (ღ′◡‵)
> 
>  
> 
> Oh, I've noticed that it's been already a year since I started this story? Wow.

I scowled and squeezed my eyelids to repel the insolent sunlight that was shining through the window right on my face. I turned my head and stifled a yawn. Kōshi mumbled something in his sleep and sighed when I gently stroked his hand. We were laying on our sides, facing each other, and I smiled inwardly at how adorable his bedhead looked.

“Mmmmmmnnnn…”

Kōshi nuzzled my cheek and he tightened his arm around me a little.

“Kōshi?” I whispered.

He let out another sigh, but the tone of this one made my face burn.

“Hey, Kōshi…”

Kōshi frowned and then he slowly opened his eyes, warm and blurry from sleep.

“Oh,” he mumbled. “Good morning?”

“Good morning.” I kissed the tip of his nose.

Kōshi smiled and pulled me closer to cuddle me with a happy sigh.

“I want to wake up like this every day,” he murmured, slowly carding his fingers through my hair. I cupped his cheek and this time kissed him softly square on his lips.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” I mused.

Kōshi hummed. He let his hand wander from my head and he draped it loosely over my waist.

“It really is.”

We lay drowsily like that, lazily waking up, listening to each others' breaths and gazing at each other with sleepy smiles. Kōshi gently traced his index finger right below my lips, frowning.

“Does it still hurt?”

“Hmm?” I raised my eyebrow in dull confusion. “Oh, the cut. No, not at all.” I stroked his cheek with my thumb and I giggled. “You're scratchy.”

“Well, forgive me for not wanting to leave the bed right now to shave,” Kōshi droned. He sighed through his nose and narrowed his eyes teasingly. “Or is this your roundabout way of telling me to get out?”

“As if,” I scoffed, hooking my thigh over his hip and pressing him closer to make a point. I glanced at his lips for a second. “How are you feeling?”

Kōshi averted his gaze for a moment.

“Better. Much better.” He sighed again and smiled at me with a tint of melancholy in his calm, warm eyes. “But…”

He didn't continue and the silence stretched in what felt like long minutes until I gathered up to reach out through it.

“I can get from Kenma the phone number to his psychologist,” I said softly. “It's up to you. I think that could help a lot.”

Kōshi mulled over my words before he nodded.

“I suppose it's worth a shot,” he said hesitantly. “I mean, I've never done anything about it… so I guess…” He frowned. “I'd say it's a way better idea than what it's been like so far.”

“I can go with you if that makes you feel better,” I added, sliding my hand from his cheek to comb my fingers through his hair again.

“Mhmmm… I…” He paused. “I'll think about it. I think… I think it's not going to be a pretty sight.”

“That's okay.” 

Kōshi hummed in reply. Whether he agreed with me or simply acknowledged my comment, I couldn't exactly tell, but he was quite obviously at ease, so I suspected hopefully the former. He wriggled a little in his spot and snaked his arm under my head.

“It's barely after eight,” he mumbled after a while. “I thought it was way later.”

“I'm not all that sleepy,” I said. “Come to think of it…” I smirked. “Had any nice dreams?” I shifted my leg to brush my toes over his ankle. “You seemed like it.”

Kōshi stared at me for a moment. His gaze trailed from my eyes to my lips and then back to my eyes again. The arm that he had draped over my waist slid unhurriedly to the small of my back, then to my hip, then to the back of my thigh.

“Mmm, would you actually like to know?” he asked. He nudged his knee between my legs, not breaking the eye contact.

“If I may…” I mused, pretending to be deep in thought. “So what are you going to do?”

Kōshi licked his lips.

“What I'm going to do?” He lightly pushed my shoulder to turn me onto my back and then get on top of me. “I'm going to make you forget about everything but me, sweetheart,” Kōshi whispered between leaving a line of light bites down my neck. “For a while.” His hand moved down from my shoulder and stopped at my chest. There was no way he didn't notice how my pulse spiked up.

“Please do…”

He cupped my breast through the fabric. I sighed and closed my eyes, wrapping my other thigh at his hip as well. Kōshi's breath hitched and he began unbuttoning my top while he sucked a dark bruise into the junction of my shoulder and neck. He rolled his hips against mine.

“I'm going to mess you up so bad until you feel so good you'll cry.”

My heart skipped a beat. The soft cloth of the pyjamas had not a single chance to hide the palpable fact that he was very obviously, very much hard. Kōshi undid the last button and pulled the halves of the top aside. I scratched at his shoulders when he shuffled a little down to get his mouth on my breasts, he latched his lips on my right nipple and tortuously slowly circled it with his tongue while his left hand strayed from my left breast down to my stomach, to my waist—

“You are so beautiful,” Kōshi purred.

—and then he tugged down the waistband of my bottoms a little. His movement, his breathing, his heartbeat paused for a second and then he looked at me with widened eyes with full-blown pupils.

“You,” he rasped. “You are _seriously_ not wearing anything under _my_ pyjamas.” He buried his face between my breasts and let out a shaky exhale. “Are— are you trying to kill me?”

I laughed and pulled at his top. Kōshi sighed in defeat and took it off, he dropped it haphazardly onto the floor and crawled down the bed, tugging my bottoms off my legs. He ran his eyes up and down my exposed body from where he was sitting on his heels. His sweats were tented in a completely unambiguous way and the sole sight made my head spin. Kōshi bit his lips, leaned forward between my legs and stroked my thigh with the tips of his fingers, he lay on his stomach and kissed the same spot on my inner thigh that his fingers had paused at.

“What else are you going to do to me?” I murmured. 

Kōshi sucked a small bruise into my skin and glanced at me briefly before making one on my other thigh. His fingers unhurriedly crept up my stomach until they reached my breasts.

“I'm going to fuck you until you melt under me and cry for more,” he stated quietly. He licked his lips and crawled a little forward. He rested his chin on my belly and looked up at me, flushed cheeks and half-lidded eyes and all. The tip of his index finger barely skimmed over my slit and he smiled slyly when it made me involuntarily shudder. “Until you cry for more of me.”

“I think it would be an under— understatement if I sa— said that I didn't expect you to be that much of a dirty talker,” I uttered.

“My brakes might be just a bit loose right after I wake up.” Kōshi didn't as much as glance at me, too busy covering my belly and inner thighs in kisses.

“ _A-a bit_ ,” I repeated breathlessly, “s-sure…”

“Although…” he trailed off. He grabbed my knees and hiked my legs over his shoulders. He turned his head to make another mark on my thigh. “It's you who makes me like this in the first place.” He licked the small bruise and then locked his eyes with mine. “How about—”

He stopped and his expression went from sultry to deer-in-headlights in a blink of an eye. I frowned in confusion, but then I heard it as well. 

The flat's front door opening.

“Home sweet home,” Tanaka said to himself in a singsong voice in the entrance.

“I'm going to die,” Kōshi said weakly. “Or I'm going to kill him.” He pressed his face to my stomach with a frustrated groan. “Either way, someone's going to die here.”

I couldn't decide whether I was more annoyed or amused, but eventually I started giggling quietly, unable to contain it in my hand plastered to my mouth. Kōshi let out another dying-whale groan and sat up, letting my legs down.

“Suga?” Tanaka called. He walked up to Kōshi's door, but didn't enter. “Ya a'ight? Ya sound like yer stomach hurts or something.”

“Not my _stomach_ ,” Kōshi muttered and then he spoke up, “I'm okay. We'll get some breakfast soon.”

“ _We—?_ ” Tanaka cut himself off with a gasp. “ _Oh crap._ I di'n't hear anythin'!”

“There was nothing to hear,” Kōshi replied blankly. “Nothing at all.” He rubbed his face with both hands.

“Ah, oka— a'ight.” Tanaka laughed slightly awkwardly and walked away.

“And there went the mood.” Kōshi sighed.

“You know…” I glanced at him while I started buttoning up my top. “Today Miss Yamamoto moves out her belongings and tomorrow I'm bringing in mine. After I unpack, I think I should celebrate one way or another.”

Kōshi sighed again. He handed me the pyjama bottoms and watched sullenly as I put them back on.

“Tomorrow.” He sighed sullenly once more and I couldn't help but chuckle. He dropped onto his side next to me. “Okay. I can make Tanaka carry the heaviest stuff.”

“If that makes you feel better.” I snorted. I kissed his temple and cuddled to him, fitting in like a perfectly matched puzzle piece.

“… actually, it does,” he mumbled without a tiniest hint of shame. 

“Some angel you are.” I tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear.

“Let me have that scrap of petty revenge,” he whined tiredly. “You just can't live on holiness alone,” he added with amusement.

“Yeah, you showed that quite explicitly.”

Tanaka was half-asleep over his bowl of cereal but he still blushed when Kōshi and I stepped into the kitchen. He had a black-and-white rat on top of his head.

“Yo.” He waved his hand and shovelled a spoonful into his mouth. “I'm gonna go sleep in a sec, so, uh…” His ears turned beetroot red. He was most likely trying to ignore all the hickeys Kōshi had made on my neck.

“I was going to ask if you could help out tomorrow,” I said quickly. “I'll be moving my stuff in,” I explained at his confused expression. “I wondered if it would be okay with you if you helped me out a bit?”

“Ah, tha's right.” Tanaka grinned. He picked out a single cornflake and gave it to his rat. “I helped cutie Yamamoto carry out furniture yesterday, she said ya can bring in some already. One room's totes empty, ya can put yer stuff there now.”

“Really?” I grinned back. “It would be pretty nice to get things done earlier. Right?” I peeked at Kōshi and he gave me a happy stare in return.

“Right.” He nodded. “Do you think Tsukishima would lend us the car?”

“I don't think so.” I snorted. “He doesn't even lend his car to Yamaguchi. Better luck to ask him to come along with it.”

* * *

I tried every kind of tune imaginable for my alarm clock, be it energetic or gentle, but every single one managed to get under my skin after three days. Not even a peaceful melody from one of Studio Ghibli's movies soundtracks could wake me up in a good mood, simply because waking up at 6 AM on a Sunday was nothing I would be able to happily accept. Ever.

It was Tsukishima's obvious attempt at tormenting me after he agreed to ask his neighbour who had a small delivery truck to help out with the moving. Tsukishima had always been waking up at 6 every day by default and making other people miserable so early on a weekend gave him an essence of pure, petty joy.

I yawned and stretched. 

I made my way to the kitchen, where Yaku was in a state between life and death over his rice omelette and Lev was pouring cat food into several bowls on the floor, surrounded by their five cats and my Tsukki. By what miracle Lev, who deemed any time before 11 AM on a weekend to be the middle of a night, was up and about already, I had no idea. 

“We've got a surprise for you,” he spoke up excitedly.

“Now it's not a surprise any more, dumbass,” Yaku muttered, sluggishly rubbing his face with both hands.

“It's going to be delivered around 9,” Lev added, too pumped to hear Yaku's comment.

“Do you know what the word _surprise_ means?” Yaku yawned and resumed eating.

“To your new place, of course,” Lev continued. “By that time we should have your stuff carried in already, what do you think?”

“I suppose so?” I trudged to the table to get my hands on my own omelette. It must have been prepared by Lev himself, judging by the complete lack of salt. “I _hope_ so.” 

“Aren't you going to ask what it is?” Lev carried the bag of cat food into the pantry and then turned to me with his hands on his hips, pouting.

“It's a surprise,” Yaku and I said at the same time.

“It's a futon!” Lev grinned. 

Yaku covered his eyes and sighed.

“But I have a bed already,” I remarked, raising my eyebrows.

“You have a _single_ bed.” Lev snickered. “Eat your omelette, Kitty, Tsukishima's pal should be here in 15 minutes.”

“A single bed,” I repeated blankly. “Are you telling me that futon is _not a single_?”

“Of course! It's a double! And it's perfect for that small bedroom since it's got tatami floor! You gotta think about wha—” 

“Lev,” Yaku cut in, “your omelette is cold. It will taste gross.”

“Whaaaa—?!”

My still half-conscious brain caught up with Lev's explanation. 

“A _double_ futon?”

“I live in a world of goldfish,” Yaku mumbled, shoving the last bit of his breakfast into his mouth.

* * *

Tsukishima's neighbour arrived at exactly half past six, right after Kōshi, Tanaka, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima himself. That, including myself, made eight people to move my belongings, so in theory it shouldn't take long, but…

… but Tsukishima insisted on checking every single box himself, to make sure that nothing would break or squish or whatever else. The focus he examined each package with was so intense that even someone absolutely unfamiliar would guess right away that Tsukishima was simply being a little shit.

“Did you bet with Yamaguchi on something here?” I droned when he finally concluded his check-ups and we started carrying the things to the truck.

“And with this question you asked I have won now.”

“You bet on how short my patience was?”

“No.” Tsukishima handed a box with big red KITCHEN STUFF THIS SIDE UP written on it to Yamaguchi, who was waiting inside the truck. “And no, I'm not going to tell you what the bet was about.”

“We bet on your patience!” Yamaguchi informed me.

I sneered at Tsukishima, but he ignored me and marched back into the house.

Kōshi and Tanaka emerged through the front door one after another, each of them with huge cartons signed as BOOKS in their arms.

“I don't remember you having this many books,” Kōshi panted, leaving the box to Yamaguchi. “Or did you have one more room in your old flat?”

“Oh, most of those are books that Lev borrowed from me and then didn't return them,” I explained.

“So… Lev had around three quarters of your books?” Tanaka put the box on the truck as well and scratched his head.

“It can't be that many!” Lev marched outside with the last carton (signed SMALL POTS), followed by all the six cats. “It's definitely not that many.”

“I'd say it is,” Yamaguchi commented.

“It looks like it,” Tsukishima drawled with a smirk.

“It sure is.” Yaku took the box from Lev and gave it to Yamaguchi.

“Some of these books I haven't seen since high school,” I added.

Everyone — including Tsukishima's neighbour — stared at Lev.

“Well, since he read all those, at least this time he can stash just one quarter at most,” Kōshi pointed out. 

“ _If_ he read them,” Tsukishima said.

“I am above such accusations,” Lev announced, not looking at him.

“He didn't read them,” Tanaka muttered.

“He didn't.” Yamaguchi shook his head.

“He so didn't.”

“Anyway,” I spoke up, deciding to have mercy on Lev. “We've got all the boxes—”

“… an hour late since Tsukishima was so anal about it…” Yaku droned.

“—so could we go to my new place then?” I turned to Tsukishima's neighbour. “Thank you very much for your help!”

The man waved dismissively and smiled. Tsukishima forbid me from asking how did he manage to convince him to do the whole service for free — or at least free on _my_ end — so naturally I decided to ask Yamaguchi when an opportunity would occur.

Despite it being an early Sunday morning and the fact that we were nowhere near the city centre, it took over an hour to get to the purple house. I was sitting in the front seat next to Tsukishima, who was driving, with Kōshi, Yamaguchi, and Tanaka in the back. Lev and my cat were in the truck with Tsukishima's neighbour, and Yaku stayed behind to “salvage anything he could after having a herd of uncivilised goldfish trample through the house.” 

“Was moving places really that exhausting?” Yamaguchi yawned. “When I was moving here from Miyagi, it wasn't that taxing.”

“That's because your entire baggage consisted of more or less half a sock,” Tsukishima replied calmly. “And be glad there was a fridge already.”

“There is a fridge in my new place already as well,” I remarked.

“So be happy.”

“Tsukki, there was a fridge at your place, too,” Yamaguchi cut in.

“And it seems I'm the only one who appreciates that I didn't have to carry one in.”

“I hope we'll manage to bring everything inside before it starts snowing again,” Kōshi said, looking out at the grey sky. “There's supposed to be a blizzard in the afternoon until around midnight.”

“If _someone_ won't insist on inspecting every box with a microscope again,” I said, throwing Tsukishima a glare, “then we'll easily make it.”

“I don't have a microscope.” Tsukishima fixed his glasses.

“They must've been selling it with sense of tactfulness,” Kōshi mused.

Silence fell in the entire car.

Tanaka started laughing his lungs out.

“Holy crap, I missed this!” he howled. “Like righ' back to high school!”

“With the same level of maturity.” Tsukishima didn't change his tone.

“At least we don't have a guy here who makes other people wake up at 6 just to be petty.” Kōshi nodded. 

“No one wins a diss contest against Suga,” Tanaka whispered.

We didn't get the time to witness any ultimate victory. The next moment Tsukishima parked the car in front of the purple building and made sure there was enough space for the truck. 

And then the general chaos resumed.

Halfway into unloading the boxes, another truck stopped next to Tsukishima's car and Lev was called forth to sign delivery confirmation. Yamaguchi had to help him to carry the futon inside, which proved to be rather complicated when they reached the staircase.

By the time we finished carrying my things in and placing the boxes in their destined rooms it was almost noon and everyone was utterly exhausted. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi excused themselves and left right afterwards along with Tsukishima's neighbour, who politely refused having some tea at Kōshi and Tanaka's flat and wished me good luck.

“I'm hungry,” Lev whined, sitting in their kitchen, face plastered onto the tabletop. “I'm faaaaamiiiiiiished.”

“I ordered pizza half an hour ago,” Tanaka muttered, plopping down in front of Lev and tilting back in his seat, closing his eyes and stretching. “It should be 'ere in five.”

“Perfeeeeect…” Lev groaned and raised his hand with his thumb up.

I leaned my side on the door frame and crossed my arms with a yawn.

“Aaah, and I still have to unpack everything,” I mumbled.

“I can help with that…” Kōshi was standing right behind me and he said it so quietly that there wasn't a chance for neither Tanaka nor Lev to hear it. He rested his chin on my shoulder, close enough to rub his cheek against my neck, and loosely wrapped his arms around my waist.

“How much really will your _help_ include unpacking?”

“I wonder.” Kōshi was watching the two sitting by the table, making sure that they weren't looking in our direction. Not averting his eyes from them, he tilted his head and kissed my neck. “You do have some clothes that need to be taken care of, right?”

“I sure do,” I whispered.

Tanaka's phone went off and he jumped to his feet.

“PIZZA!”

“I'll get it!” Lev yelped, raising from his chair like from the dead, all energetic and excited again.

“No, I'll get it!” Tanaka jabbed.

They both ran out of the flat, not bothering to close the front door behind them.

Kōshi and I briefly glanced after them before he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me to the wall and pressed his lips to mine with urgency that was falling into starvation. He gasped against my mouth when I wrapped my arms around him and tugged him closer, he slid his hand under my blouse to run his fingers over the small of my back, he inhaled sharply through his nose when I pulled at his hair—

He stepped back reluctantly when we heard Tanaka and Lev march up the stairs. 

“Just a little longer,” he whispered. He left one more small kiss on my lips and watched with last remains of his patience as the pizza was brought in, filling the kitchen with the delicious smell. “I think I'm hungry for pizza, too, after all,” he added.

I grabbed his hand before he entered the kitchen and leaned him down.

“The first thing we'll unpack,” I mumbled right into his ear, “is the futon.”

Kōshi's ears turned red.

“This is paradise,” Lev babbled, biting into his first slice. He glanced at the clock and started choking violently until Tanaka slammed his palm on his back several times. “I gotta open the café in 30 minutes!”

“Take a slice for the road and go.” I picked up a slice for myself. “Yamaguchi's probably there anyway, so don't panic.”

“Thanks heaven for Yamaguchi.” Lev slumped in his seat and stuffed an entire half of his piece into his mouth. Tsukki rubbed his side against his calf.

“That doesn't mean you can be an hour late, though,” I pointed out. 

Lev whined and got to his feet, he pulled on his jacket and shoes and waved goodbye after Tanaka handed him what was most likely a half of the whole pizza rolled into a huge cone.

“I'm gonna drop dead any moment now,” Tanaka announced when he swallowed the last bite and hiccuped. “And it ain't even two.” He sluggishly stood up and saluted. “A'ight, I'm off to bed. Nap time!”

“Thanks again for the help.” I grinned.

“Looking forward to be yer neighbour!” Tanaka grinned back and trudged out of the kitchen. My cat shamelessly followed him, tail standing straight up.

Silence didn't last even ten seconds.

“Futon,” I said.

“Futon,” Kōshi repeated. “… hmm, in fact…”

He disappeared into his room for a moment and then showed up with a blanket.

“Does it even need unpacking right now?”

“Good point.”

He shut the front door behind us, I stabbed the key into my lock, swung my door open, we tripped over our own feet and nearly fell inside, Kōshi slammed the door close, jammed the lock shut, took my hand, and we almost ran to the bedroom. Thankfully the futon was only wrapped in packing foil with a small paper with address and other information taped to it, so Kōshi simply covered it with the blanket.

“Actually…” he started.

He turned to stand in front of me and cupped my face, resting his forehead on mine.

“I'm a little nervous,” he muttered with eyes closed.

“That's okay.” I touched his cheek and moved my hand further, to smooth his hair. “I've got you.”

“I know.” Kōshi tilted his head and we sank into a kiss, unhurried and tentative at first. He sneaked his hands underneath my blouse and reached right for the clasp of my bra and managed to undo it at the third try. He stroked my back up and down without any obstacles on his way and tugged me closer, all the while not breaking the kiss, calmly breathing through the nose despite the heartbeat spiking up with every passing second.

Kōshi sat down on the edge of the futon. He pulled me onto his lap. He took a deep breath.

“You saw me naked just yesterday,” I remarked with a sly smile. “And it was you who took off my clothes to begin with.”

“Yeah, I remember every single detail.” Kōshi smiled back at me. “Though I might be not that good with dirty talk if I'm not half-asleep.”

“I'll just wait for the next time you wake up next to me.” I shrugged and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt. “That might be fairly soon.”

“Most likely,” Kōshi agreed, raising his arms to let me pull it off.

“Could be even tomorrow.” I dropped the t-shirt onto the floor and traced my fingers over his bare chest.

“I think so, too.” He licked his lips and helped me out of both my blouse and bra at once. I shuffled off his lap and lay on the futon, pulling him after me. 

“It's comfortable. Though I imagine it will be better when we unpack it.”

“We'll have to make a detailed comparison,” Kōshi said. His hand trailed from my cheek, to my neck, between my breasts, slowly, slowly. “So remember exactly what we'll be doing. For future reference.”

“I'll remember all ri— _aah—_ ”

Kōshi latched his lips on my left nipple while he brushed the other one with his thumb so lightly that it could've tickled, but instead it made every inch of my body tingle, made me curl my toes and close my eyes.

“This is… difficult…” he murmured against my skin. “I really want to… take my time… but at the same time… I can't wait.” He slid his fingers from my breast to the waistband of my bottoms. “What to do, what to do…”

“For now,” I cut in, “off with that.” I snaked my hands to the buckle of his belt and undid it clumsily, already going for the button of his jeans before my moves coordinated with my mind.

“Just a moment—” Kōshi shoved his hand into his pocket and I suspected that he'd fish out a condom. Or maybe two.

He pulled out an entire box.

My brain corked up.

Then a dozen of possible responses flooded in, ranging from an undignified giggle worthy of an amused 5-years-old to something like “so, are we going to spend the rest of the day on an unpacked futon?” with various shades of “how long have you been carrying this around?” in between. None of those reactions fitted the mood, so I decided to say nothing.

“How about we take our time on the next one?” I asked when he put the packet aside. Kōshi glanced at me and smirked.

“Fair enough.”

I had never witnessed anyone taking off clothes faster before. I had enough mind to tear off the packaging foil from the box and open it while jeans, socks, underwear were haphazardly flung aside by Kōshi one after another until there was nothing to take off any more. 

“I'm not asleep and dreaming, am I?” Kōshi leaned in from where he was sitting next to me and traced his index finger up my thigh, over my hip, my stomach, and palmed my breast.

“I hope not.” I fell back onto the futon and yanked him to me, relishing in how delightful it was to have all bare skin on bare skin, so warm, close, honest. I combed my fingers through his hair and inhaled loudly when Kōshi's hand slid between my legs and he touched me, staring at me intently to gauge my reaction. I clenched my fists in his hair and gulped. I had no doubt that there was an intense blush all over my face and I could see that Kōshi absolutely loved it.

Kōshi nuzzled my neck and gently nudged my chin up with his nose.

“I had to make sure,” he whispered. He angled his head and brushed his lips over mine, softly, barely there, like he wanted to test how light he could keep it — but that had little to do with how his ring finger entered me and was immediately joined by the middle one. 

“Hnnnn—” I threw my head back when Kōshi tortuously slowly slid them in down to his knuckles and then out, even slower, feeling every millimetre. He watched my reactions hungrily, every twitch of my legs, every time I pressed my fingernails into his skin, every hitch of my breath. He grazed my throat with his teeth and cupped my breast in his free hand, gently, gently—

I gasped and arched my back, and Kōshi pressed his lips to mine, and harder, and moved his fingers with more urgency, and he added one more, and I scratched his shoulder, and he muffled my moan—

Kōshi retracted his hand and I knew exactly what he was going to do, I was one-hundred-percent sure that he would lick his fingers. He did. The fact that I had predicted it did not make it look any less intoxicating.

“Did something happen?” Kōshi asked, slurring a little around his index finger. “You are out of breath.”

“Am… I…?” I uttered. “I wonder… why… Kōshi…”

Kōshi's cheeks went pink.

“Kōshi…?” I raised my eyebrow. He bit his lips. I smirked. “You like hearing your name, don't y—”

The rest was swallowed in a hungry kiss. Kōshi pushed his knee between my legs and I let him get on top of me, let him suck a dark hickey on my collarbone while I cradled his hips between my thighs and trailed my toes up the back of his calf, almost light-headed with the rush of butterflies in my stomach. He was really hard and the way he was pressing into my inner thigh made my heart shift to a higher gear. Kōshi claimed my lips again. He licked into my mouth and I melted. I gripped him tightly. I found his hand and laced our fingers together and gasped for air against his lips when he pulled back a fraction.

“Kōshi…”

Kōshi purred my name back at me and covered my face in feather-light kisses, and ended up at my lips again, all fiery and messy right away like there wasn't just a break for air at all. He rolled his hips at mine and groaned deliciously into my mouth, he did it the second time and I inhaled sharply through my nose, once more and I felt a shiver run up my spine.

“Get a—” I started, but I didn't manage to say another word before Kōshi was unpacking a condom and putting it on, and then he was kissing me again, and then staring with full-blown pupils into my eyes, and I cupped his face, and then he entered me.

Kōshi let out the most strangled moan I could ever imagine and he gripped my hip like he was afraid he could drown. He buried his face in my shoulder.

“Fffh— I can't… move,” he uttered and laughed breathlessly in disbelief, almost hysterically. “I can't. I'll come. I… uh…”

“Kōshi,” I murmured. I hugged him tightly and kissed his hairline. I traced my fingers down his spine, feeling every bump under smooth skin, radiating warmth and already a little sweaty.

He mumbled something too incoherent to discern, but it didn't take a genius to catch on the frustration and embarrassment in his tone.

“Kō.”

Kōshi raised his head to glance at me. His face was intensely red. I sank my fingers into his hair and pulled him to my lips. Slowly, unhurriedly, I kissed him with all the softness I had. The tension in his shoulders dissipated and he relaxed into my embrace with a sigh.

“You have no idea what you do to me,” he whispered, resting his forehead on mine. He smiled. “I can't comprehend it myself.”

Kōshi took a deep breath and withdrew a little, and then sank into me again, slowly, slowly, until our hips were flush. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. He thrust again, less cautiously, and again, harder, and I crossed my ankles over his lower back—

“Kōshiiiiii—”

“Nnnnngh…”

—he snapped his hips forward hard enough to make me slide up the futon along with the blanket. I gasped and dug my nails into his shoulders. Kōshi groaned my name into the side of my neck and grabbed my hand to entwine our fingers just like I did before. He pressed our hands into the mattress above my head and snatched me into a sloppy kiss that was more of a random press of parted lips and panting and moaning into each other's mouths than actual kissing.

“Aaah— ahhnnn—”

“Kō— shi— Kōshi—”

Kōshi slipped his free hand to the small of my back to lift my hips and the new angle made me curl up my toes. I was up on cloud nine and about to fall over the edge of it.

“I can't— I ca— aaahh—” Kōshi gasped out. 

He pulled me up into his arms, he sat on his heels and kept me in his lap clutching onto me for dear life, pressing his forehead into my shoulder and helping me move on my own without any kind of rhythm, chasing, chasing—

“I can't, I can't, I can't— ah—”

He shuddered and straight up sobbed into my skin and almost choked on his own breath when I raked my nails down his back and gripped him tightly between my thighs, biting down a loud moan and shaking in spasms, on the verge of blanking out.

“Kō…”

Kōshi was heaving desperately like he had been underwater for too long, still squeezing me in his arms. 

“Give— give me… a moment…”

He turned his head to rest his cheek on my shoulder, making his hot breath blow over my neck. I called him with the softest _Kō_ murmured into his hair and he hummed in reply.

“I love you.”

I could feel his eyelashes fan at my skin when he blinked quickly several times before he raised his head and stared at me with saucer-round eyes. I smiled tiredly at him and ran my fingers through his dishevelled hair.

“You really do?” he rasped.

“I really do.”

Kōshi exhaled a breath he probably didn't realise he had been holding and he kissed my cheek, then my nose, and then my lips. He closed his eyes and smiled warmly.

“I love you, too.”

He carefully helped me to lie back on the futon and he leaned down to kiss me slowly, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I covered his hand with mine and sighed. His fingers traced all over my body, from my thigh, my hips, stomach, breasts, along my collarbones, my throat.

“I seriously do,” Kōshi murmured against my mouth before he kissed me again, unhurriedly, like he was pondering something.

I wrapped my arms around him and tugged him down until he lay next to me with a silly smile. 

“Maybe—” he whispered and kissed me lightly— “we should unpack—” _kiss_ — “the futon—” _kiss_ — “and—” _kiss_ — “compare now?” Kōshi asked and smirked. “I hope you paid attention before.”

He licked his lips.

“I'll just say _yes_ twice.” I laughed. I tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear. 

“It's getting long.” Kōshi pouted and raised his hand to completely mess his hair up.

“It looks good on you,” I remarked. “Though right now it's more of a rat nest.”

“Everything looks good on me,” Kōshi replied and stuck out his tongue at me. “Rat nest included.”

“It sure does, Mister Modest.”

“But the truth is,” Kōshi continued, only playfully narrowing his eyes at my comment, “nothing looks as good on me as _you_.”

For full ten seconds I was speechless.

“That was the number one cheesiest statement I've ever heard in my entire life,” I said.

“Yeah…” Kōshi snorted and covered his eyes with his forearm. His face was red. “It sounded less cringe-worthy in my head.”

“It's terrifyingly cheesy no matter how you put it,” I pointed out innocently.

“But it's _true_.” Kōshi glanced at me from underneath his arm and grinned. “And anyway, I can do way, way, _way_ cheesier than that.”

“I wonder if that makes me more intrigued or terrified,” I drawled, combing my fingers through his hair to smooth it out.

“I have other talents.” Kōshi was shaking with a barely withheld chuckle. “I can also do brilliant, unflattering impressions of other people.” He cleared his throat. “By the way, you don't happen to have an unpacked trash bin around? I don't think skipping butt naked to my flat to throw _this_ out is a good idea, and I'm definitely too out of it to put any clothes on right now.”

“It's in the kitchen. Probably. I think.”

Kōshi stood up and sighed.

“Probably in the kitchen,” he repeated. “All right.” He looked down at me with a smirk. “I should be back this year yet.”

He was gone for good three minutes before he came back and stopped at the threshold with a deadpan expression.

“It's definitely not in the kitchen.”

“Bathroom?”

“Nope.”

“… entryway?”

“I'm afraid not.”

I groaned and sluggishly got to my feet.

“Maybe it's just between the boxes somewhere…? Or maybe I left it in my flat,” I mumbled, putting my hands on my hips. I frowned and stared at Kōshi. “Why are you exactly even looking for a bin?”

“Well, I should throw away—”

“I mean, you can just wrap this in a tissue and leave it for now.”

Kōshi leaned his side on the door frame and stared blankly back at me.

“Did we really just spend 5 minutes on trying to dispose of a used condom?”

“And imagine that it's going to take longer than that, actually.” I nodded, running my hand through my hair in defeat.

“How so?”

“Tissues are in my bag. And my bag is in your kitchen. So unless you brought some here…”

“… I think I'll put my pants on and pay a visit to my own bin after all.”

We both lost it. 

Kōshi gripped onto the door frame with one hand, laughing so hard that he wasn't able to make any sound while I simply plopped down on the still unpacked futon and held onto my stomach, more wheezing than laughing at the moment.

The whole time both of us were still one hundred percent naked.

“Okay,” Kōshi coughed out and wobbled his way in to pick up his jeans. “Okay. I'm going. I'm going.”

Only when he sneaked out and I wrapped myself in the blanket I noticed that the window was half-covered under a thick layer of ice and behind that there was nothing recognisable through relentlessly whirling snow.

* * *

The garbage bin, as it appeared, was in fact forgotten by me in my old flat, which I was informed of by the previous landlady in an annoyed voice over the phone. Aside from the bin, I also forgot one mug, a wooden cooking spoon, a still unpacked toothbrush, and a sock that fell behind the washing machine.

She also complained about white cat hair on every surface everywhere, and the obnoxious red walls in the kitchen.

_Thanks, Lev._

Thankfully Daishō's blood was cleaned up without a trace from the entryway.

As such, I had to take the bus to my old place on a Sunday morning to pick up those couple of things, since the landlady refused to dispose of them herself (“not her job to clean up my mess anyway”). A half-asleep Kōshi was swaying slightly in his tram seat next to me until the driver hit the brakes abruptly and honked at something, startling the living soul out of him and dispersing any drowsiness he had left in him.

He blinked several times and gazed at the breath-fogged window and then at me, trying to focus his still blurry eyes while the tram started moving again. His scarf slid down a little, exposing a couple of hickeys on the side of his neck.

“Had any nice dreams?” I asked.

“… I'm not doing anything in a tram,” Kōshi said, fixing his scarf.

My memory went back to the previous day's evening and the short trip we took to the city for dinner and how Kōshi ended up holding my bag in front of him the entire way back. I covered my mouth and coughed.

“Really?”

Kōshi didn't answer for a while, staring ahead with a deadpan face.

“It's _cold_ out there,” he mumbled finally, gazing at me out of the corner of his eye.

“Oooh?” I raised my eyebrows and leaned closer. “And what when the weather gets warmer?”

Kōshi cleared his throat and said nothing.

We got out of the tram, shuddering when the freezing air hit us — the temperature had dropped significantly after yesterday's blizzard — and trudged across the street and into the building I used to live in. I was about to ring the landlady's intercom when Mrs. Sakusa climbed the front steps behind us and called out to me.

“Missy and her fiancé!” She grinned with the remaining teeth she had and patted my cheek. Mrs. Yamada's sausage dog stood by her feet, dressed in what looked like a sleeve cut off from an ugly, hand-knitted sweater. “Didn't you move out in November?”

“Not quite.” I smiled awkwardly back at her, deciding to skip over the _fiancé_ part. “The formalities were done last week. I'm here to pick up—”

“I see, I see!” Mrs. Sakusa pulled out her key and let us inside. The staircase echoed her voice after the door shut behind us. “So you didn't hear the news? Did you?”

“The news?” I asked cautiously, preparing myself for a dose of the freshest local gossip.

“Yes, yes! I'm so embarrassed that I haven't thought of this myself!” She shook her head and began hobbling up the stairs, one at a time. “Mrs. Yamada always hated sesame oil! She was allergic to sesame and never used it, one time she ended up in a hospital when her daughter-in-law cooked for her!”

“That's…” I started, not sure how to comment. “Who would've thought.”

Mrs. Sakusa scoffed.

“Don't you remember what my Tsubame, my wonderful niece said? They found her in a puddle of sesame oil! _Dead! Sesame oil!_ Although Tsubame pierced her eyebrow last week, I need to reconsider calling her _wonderful_ , dear heavens, what is it with young people, my grandson Kyoomi would ne—”

“Why was it sesame oil, then?” Kōshi asked slowly.

“What's more…” Mrs. Sakusa immediately forgot about her niece and pulled on my sleeve to make me step closer. “The policeman was asking questions and I _accidentally_ heard when he talked to his assistant, there was a date of the bottling on it, and it was from the day before she died. But she didn't go out that entire week, she couldn't have bought it on her own! And I know no one did shopping for her, she always did that herself,” she whispered enthusiastically.

“You've got to be kidding me,” Kōshi mumbled, more to himself than to the old woman. “You've got to be kidding me.”

“Sounds like someone gave her a gift without knowing and when she wanted to throw it out, she dropped the bottle, it spilled, she slipped, and there she went!” Mrs. Sakusa's eyes gleamed when she finally revealed her suspicion.

I thought about how Tsukki was poisoned the same day Mrs. Yamada saw the stranger, I thought about what happened to Daishō, what happened at the café. I thought of how many times Mrs. Yamada was inviting me to talk about that guy she apparently had seen so often and deemed to be my boyfriend, the same man that Mrs. Sakusa mistook for my significant other as well. 

_Was it really an accident, that sesame oil, I wonder._

“Mrs. Sakusa,” I spoke up, doing my best to sound casually. “Have you maybe seen the man that you thought was my boyfriend lately? I don't mean Mr. Sugawara here.” I glanced at Kōshi. “I mean that tall one in the red jacket.”

_… I didn't just call Kōshi short in a roundabout way, did I?_

“I wouldn't know for sure, my sight and memory aren't as sharp these days!” Mrs. Sakusa waved her hand as if to deny that she didn't inherit the gossip centre after Mrs. Yamada. “But I doubt it, he is a very dashing young man. Even I would notice!” She giggled. 

She unlocked the door to her flat and the sausage dog ran in on its short legs, not once looking back at her.

“I'd love to stay longer and chat, but my grandchildren are coming, I have to cook!” She clutched her cane in one hand and patted my cheek with the other again. “Please come and have tea with me after the New Year, Missy. You too, young man, I have high hopes for you!” 

She patted Kōshi's cheek as well and closed the door behind her before we managed to say a word.

Not that we were able to put a sentence together at that moment anyway.

* * *

Monday came way too soon for my liking.

I was still in the process of unpacking everything — it seemed like either the carton boxes were bigger on the inside or someone had been secretly carrying in extra things all the time. As a result, I had an impression that the mountain of parcels was not getting any smaller. At all.

When I walked into the café at 11:30AM after the weekend, I was greeted by a sight of Lev running after a clearly agitated Ponpon and Yamaguchi, who was sipping coffee at the counter and observing the scene with a bored face.

“He's been trying to catch her for ten minutes now,” Yamaguchi said instead of a hello. “I found a flea on her, so we have to spray her, but, as you see…” He nodded at Lev, who temporarily stopped in the middle of the room, bent over and panting.

“Where in hell did she get fleas from?” I groaned, taking off my hat and unbuttoning my coat. 

“Beats me.” Yamaguchi sighed and downed the rest of his coffee. “Probably a client carried some in from their own pet.”

“We'll have to spray all the cats,” I pointed out. I turned to the back room. “I'll get the bottle, wait a—”

“We ran out,” Yamaguchi cut in, sounding even more miserable. “Suga went to buy a new one.”

“Who used up the previous one and didn't get a refill right after?” I droned. I went to the back room to hang my coat and put on my apron.

“ _Lev._ ” Yamaguchi downed the rest of his coffee. “So _he's_ doing the running now.”

“I'm going to make him _run_ , all right.” I put my hands on my hips.

Yamaguchi yawned in reply.

“You look like your new neighbour kept you up all night,” I said pityingly. 

“Oh, yeah. He sure did. My brain is getting…” Yamaguchi yawned again instead of continuing and stared sullenly into his empty mug. “I think I'll get another one.”

Whether he referred to his coffee or his brain, or maybe his neighbour, I didn't dare to ask.

Lev caught Ponpon. He sat down on the floor, heaving and holding the cat to his chest.

“And this is how bad my endurance has shrivelled since high school,” he announced.

“You were running around for ten minutes, that's still way above average,” Yamaguchi scoffed. “I can't do a half of that.”

“That's 'cause you smoke,” Lev said. “I told you—”

“—that it stinks, it's unhealthy, and second hand smoke is more toxic,” Yamaguchi cut in. “And now you are going to ask for the 100th time why haven't I quit already, and I'm going to answer—”

“I get the message.” Lev rubbed his forehead. He stood up and glanced at the cuckoo clock (the cuckoo had been broken since forever) and frowned. “I would've never guessed that buying a flea repellent takes two hours.”

“How would you know,” Yamaguchi mumbled quietly enough for Lev to miss it. “You never do it yourself when it runs out.”

_A sleep-deprived Yamaguchi scarily resembles Tsukishima._

“Just a bit more and you'll get to nap.” I took his empty mug and sent him a comforting smile. “We close earlier today, too.”

“Right. And I'm on cat watch today.” Yamaguchi gave me an exhausted, deadpan expression. “Cat watch on New Year's.”

“They'll sleep through it,” Lev reassured him. “The calming drops are, umm… in the cupboard…” he trailed off and frowned. “ … _are_ they in the cupboard?”

“Call Suga.” Yamaguchi plastered his forehead to the counter top and groaned. “If you are dumb lucky again, maybe he's still lagging at the vet.”

“Whenever I've had _any_ kind of luck lately?” Lev muttered, fishing out his phone from his back pocket. “Don't answer that.”

“Better hurry up, it's ten past half,” I said.

“Oh, the cakes should be out in a sec.” Yamaguchi straightened up, took his mug, and disappeared into the kitchen. “I love Mondays.”

“You don't sound sarcastic.” I followed him inside, heading straight for the oven gloves.

“Because I'm not.” Yamaguchi shrugged. “Opening the café at noon only requires for me to be here two hours earlier, since it's Lev who 's responsible for receiving deliveries, so I only have to get up at nine. Mondays are awesome.” He smirked. “Tsukki has to get up at six every weekday.”

“Maaan, he's not picking up,” Lev whined from the other side of the door. “I called him twice already. What is taking him so long?”

“Maybe Tanaka locked himself in the bathroom again,” Yamaguchi droned, opening the first oven and we both took out the three fresh cakes out, relishing in the hot air that blew at us from the inside. The kitchen filled with a delicious smell of baked plums, chocolate, oranges, cloves, and cinnamon. “Lev, if he doesn't answer in five minutes, lock Ponpon upstairs and go to the vet's yourself.”

“It's freezing out there!”

“My condolences.” Yamaguchi turned to me and scratched his head through the hair net he wore in the kitchen. “The plums we got today were, uh, really bitter, so I added more sugar.”

“I hope it wasn't your sleep-deprived sense of taste.” 

“I had Lev try one as well. He almost cried.”

I sighed. It wasn't difficult to imagine, considering that Lev hated bitter food more than any other kind out there.

Yamaguchi yawned and stretched. 

“Still almost twenty minutes left, I'll go for a smoke.” 

“Try not to stink too much.”

“Hilarious.”

Yamaguchi didn't bother going for his jacket and simply went out the back door to his usual spot in the alley. I started on the chocolate muffin dough, humming and scrolling in my head through the plans Kōshi and I had made for the New Year's Eve. 

The back door swung open so suddenly that it nearly hit the wall.

“Wha—” I turned in bewilderment.

Yamaguchi was hunching at the threshold, gripping the door handle, out of breath, paraffin-white and round-eyed.

“Oh, fuck…” he stammered. “Fucking hell.”

“Yamagu—”

“Call Inuoka, that— there's—” His face turned from white to green and he covered his mouth with his hand. He jumped back outside and I heard him retching. I glanced outside and at first I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

At first.

“… Leeeeev …! Lev!” I yelled.

Lev opened the kitchen door, confused by my tone. He was still holding Ponpon.

“What is it?” 

I stretched my arm to point in the direction of our garbage bins. Lev walked up to stand behind me and squinted his eyes.

“Hold her—” He handed me the cat and ran to that spot, then he halted speechless.

Yamaguchi sat down at the threshold, wiping his face with a tissue.

“Call Inuoka,” he repeated weakly.

“That's…” Lev spoke up in a wavering voice. “Is he dead?”

“Yeah.” Yamaguchi didn't dare to look anywhere near where Lev was. “He's getting cold.”

Lev staggered back.

Fortunately, I couldn't see the body from where I was standing. All I saw was blood on the snow and an arm on the ground, extended forward, sticking out from behind the bins. It could have been anyone's arm, really. The sickly blueish-white hand, however, clearly masculine, was poking out of a sleeve of a red jacket, and it made my stomach churn.

“That's really him,” Lev slurred. “That's— he's dead. He's dead. It's a dead— a dead body—”

“Lev, get back here,” I said blankly. “Get back here.”

“Yams, is this that— that dumb— luck of mine? I'd— like— like a refund.” Lev giggled hysterically.

“Lev!”

He finally caught on my words and started backing away step by step.

“Call— call I— Inuoka,” Yamaguchi said once more. He scowled and pulled out his own phone.

“Masasumi,” Lev mumbled when he sat down next to Yamaguchi. His arms were covered in goosebumps, he was only wearing a t-shirt while it was way below zero outside, but he didn't seem to notice. “Why is he dead…?”

Yamaguchi pressed the phone to his ear.

“Because one third of his face is done in, that's why,” he muttered. “Inu— Inuoka?”

All three of us almost jumped out of our skins when far behind us, in the café, the entrance door slammed and the little bell above them rang violently. Lev got to his feet and grabbed my shoulder.

“It's probably Suga,” he said.

“Ye— yeah, I'm— I'm still— I'm still here,” Yamaguchi stammered, staring with wide eyes as Lev and I walked through the kitchen.

“I think— I think someone— just—” He gulped. “Someone's— there's— it's— there's a body in— in the alley, there's a body. There's a dead body in the alley.” He paused. “Yes. Yes, be— behind the café. Yes.”

His voice was muffled once the door between kitchen and the patron room closed, but in all honesty I would've stopped listening either way. Lev froze in shock and I had to shove him aside to get out from behind the counter.

“Kōshi,” I rasped. “Kōshi, why are you… what happened?”

Kōshi was standing not even three steps into the café with an expression similar to Yamaguchi when he barged into the kitchen a moment earlier. He dropped a bag with the veterinarian's logo onto the floor.

I ran up to him and he looked at me like he wasn't sure how he got here.

His left eye was surrounded by a swollen bruise. There was blood dripping from his nose and mixing with a little red line going down from a cut on his lower lip.

“Kōshi, what happened?” I gently took his hand.

“I—” Kōshi uttered breathlessly, “I did— I think I did something— I did something really stupid—”

I noticed that his hand was really sticky and involuntarily peeked at it, and then did a double take. I gasped in panic at the sight and let go of him. His face contorted in hurt and his eyes watered.

“ _Kōshi, you—_ ”

“That's— a whole lot— of blood,” Lev pointed out in a thin voice. “A whole lot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehe. Ehehehehehehe. I had to update the rating.
> 
> Just know that I'm not going to drop this story, no matter how long will it take to finish. ♡
> 
> PS. A side note: I just thought it'd be worth explaining why I used "I'm in love with you" before and "I love you" here. I suspect most of you are familiar with the fact that there is an enormous difference between Japanese "suki/daisuki" and "aishiteru" — and that is what I was going for. Well. It doesn't sound all that overwhelming in English, unfortunately.


	10. Yamaguchi's stroll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone learns that taking a morning walk can make things overly problematic.

There was a tiny stain on the last step in the staircase leading to the living space above the café. It was dark red and preceded by more small, dark red stains that began at the entrance and undoubtedly were followed by more stains outdoors. The same line of stains was climbing up the stairs, to the bathroom. The only exception in the size of the drops was by the glass door, where Kōshi stood long enough for the blood to drip down to create a considerable puddle.

I sat on the second-to-last step and idly watched between my knees that one dark red spot. It was fresh, still shiny and had I put my finger on it, it would've painted it red.

 _I should clean it up_ , I thought. _Lev will be…_

“I wonder what's taking him so long,” Kuroo said. “It's been like twenty minutes.”

“I'll… check on him…” I stood up.

“Right. Call if you need us.”

Kenma slouched in his chair. Ponpon jumped onto his lap.

I dragged myself up the stairs, avoiding all the stains on my way.

The handle of the bathroom door was red, too. I could hear the shower running steadily and nothing else, no splashing or drops hitting the curtain the way it always is when someone is washing themselves. I took a deep breath and knocked twice.

“Kōshi?”

“Yeah.”

A tone of relief spread in my mind. I didn't expect he would answer right away.

_Just how should I put it? Asking if everything's okay would be an overkill…_

“Wha— what are you doing?”

“… showering.”

I leaned my side on the door and closed my eyes.

“Kōshi, I'm sorry I— I— I got scared of blood, that's why I— why I stepped back—”

His answer was so quiet that I barely heard it through the door and the falling water.

“You thought I did it.”

“That's not true,” I blurted out immediately. “That is _not_ true.”

“But that's why you pushed me away!”

“I didn't push you away!”

My reply came out louder than I had intended and was followed by heavy silence.

“It felt like it,” he said after a while. “It really fucking felt like it.”

I bit my lips.

“I didn't want to hurt you. I'm sorry. You know tha—”

“I— know… I know,” Kōshi cut in. “I… can you… I… ugh… the— the door's— the door's unlocked.”

“You want me to come in?”

“Yeah.”

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

I expected a cloud of hot steam to roll out onto me from the bathroom, but I was hit instead with humid, chilly air that raised goosebumps on my arms. I closed the door behind me and stepped over discarded clothes.

“Kōshi? Why is it so— are you running _cold water_?”

“It's better like that.”

I slowly pulled the curtain aside, giving him enough time in case he wanted to keep it in place. He didn't. He was sitting at the bottom of the shower with his legs tucked to his chest and his bandaged forearms resting on his knees. Water was hitting his back and dripping down his hair. His lips were almost blue from cold. He glanced at me briefly and closed his eyes again.

“Kōshi…” 

I reached out to turn the water off and flinched when several freezing droplets hit my hand.

“You're going to get yourself sick,” I said softly. I noticed that there was still dried up blood on his skin here and there, something that could've been easily washed down if the water was warm. “You've been running cold water _all this time_?” I grabbed a towel.

“I— wait.” Kōshi swiped his wet fringe aside and breathed in. “I— I've got something to say, I've been— I've been thinking, and… and…” 

He hesitated.

“… and I— I understand. I mean… you… we met not even three months ago, so— so it's— it's not like we— not like we know everything about each other, so…” He gulped. “So I… I know that. I know it's… I get what— what I must have looked like… there. I get why… why you stepped away.” He bit his lips and scowled when the cut on his lower lip must have stung him. “It's not like… trust is something that…”

“You're not… not saying that we're—” My voice broke. “You're… that we're done?”

“Wha—? What— NO, holy— no,” Kōshi uttered. “Of course not!” He covered his eyes for a moment, then locked his stare with mine and only then I noticed how bloodshot they were. “Of course not. I mean… I mean, only if you're okay… with… well, _me_.”

He mumbled the last word so sourly that it stabbed right into my heart.

I knelt down and draped the towel over his shoulders. Kōshi's eyebrows drew together, making a deep crease between them. He whispered my name and then all air abruptly left his lungs when I pulled him into a hug.

“You'll get wet…”

“So what?” I muttered and then spoke a little louder, “… so what? So what— _so what_ that it's been not even three months?” I pressed my forehead to his shoulder. “I can tell that you wouldn't— do something— do something like that. That much at least I can tell for sure. That much at least. I don't need Kuroo's explanation to know that.”

I tugged him even closer and he lost balance, his leg slipped and he clutched onto me so he wouldn't fall over. 

“I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that you're upset.” I stroked his wet hair and closed my eyes.

Kōshi hid his face in my shoulder and dug his fingers into my back.

“Thank you,” he said in a small, broken voice. “Aaaaah, holy fuck,” he groaned helplessly. “What was good enough that have I ever done to be able to deserve you?”

I cupped his cheek and raised his head so I could leave a light kiss on his lips, mindful of the cut. 

“I wish you called me,” I whispered. “Or at least let Kuroo do it.”

“I… didn't want you to worry, it really sounded worse than it was. Although now that I wonder— now that I look back on it, you are right. I would've wanted to know, too. Sorry for that.” 

I sighed. I withdrew from the hug and grabbed the hem of my blouse to tug it over my head.

“What are you—”

“Taking a shower, obviously,” I replied before he finished the question. I stood up, unzipped my skirt and let it fall to the tiles. “My clothes are wet already anyway.” I took off my bra and pulled down my tights and underwear together. “Move a little, if you will.”

Kōshi blinked several times and got to his feet. He threw the towel from his shoulders onto the floor and shuffled aside to make space for me. I stepped in — the shower was tiny, so we were nearly pressed to one another — and gently took a hold of one of his hands to raise it and look at the bandages on his forearm. Blood had soaked through a little, making horrible red patches in a couple of places.

“I hope we have enough in the first-aid kit,” I said. “You can't keep this one on now.”

“I didn't think about it earlier,” Kōshi muttered sullenly. “I was too busy sulking.”

“You had reasons,” I pointed out. I turned on the shower and squeaked when a wave of bone-chilling droplets hit my skin. Kōshi smiled and hugged me to turn us and hide me from direct impact until the temperature went up. He buried his face in my hair and inhaled slowly.

“Thank you.” He kissed the top of my head.

“It's going to be okay,” I said quietly. The water warmed up enough and the shower filled with steam. I tilted my chin up to look at him.

“It's going to be okay.” Kōshi nodded. He smiled lightly and tucked a strand of his damp hair behind his ear. He exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. “It's going to be okay.”

He leaned down and kissed me gently, stroking my shoulder with his thumb.

“It's going to be okay.”

“I'll help you with this.” I reached for the soap. “It mostly washed down by itself, but it was cold water, so there are still some bits left…”

Rusty streaks and bits swirled down the drain along with soap suds until there was not a single trace of blood on Kōshi's skin left, the only red stains being the ones that surfaced through the bandages.

“Does Inuoka know the detective that was put on this case?” Kōshi asked when I was rinsing my hair. “What was his name, again?”

“No. Apparently he was transferred here very recently.” I frowned. “I think his name was… um… Moniwa? Moniwa something. I wonder why he only sent his assistant instead of coming to the scene himself. That assistant seemed sort of… how should I put it…”

“Detective Moniwa.” Kōshi took the shampoo bottle. “Sounds like something I've heard before. Moniwa…”

The bottle hit the shower floor with a loud bang.

“Moniwa _Kaname_?”

“Ah, I think it was something like that.” I picked up the bottle and glanced at Kōshi once I stood straight up. “What is it?”

Kōshi didn't answer. He pressed his hand to the lower half of his face and absently stared ahead.

“Kōshi?”

“I…” He frowned. “No, that's just nuts. Or maybe it was Moniwa _Kanarō_ …? But that's—”

He sneezed. Twice.

“You really caught a cold,” I commented flatly. I squeezed out a bit of shampoo and started foaming it into my hair.

“I'd lie if I said I didn't expect that by now.” Kōshi sighed. “Anyway… when I was the exchange student, I was one of 15 others from Japan back then, and there was a Moniwa in that group, but I'm… not sure about the name. It was something like that. Though taking into consideration that this is a detective with an assistant, he's probably twice older.” He sneezed again. “I just… hope it's not him.” He averted his gaze and tightened his lips into a thin line.

“You don't want to get into the _let's reminiscence the good old times_ situation, right?” I washed out the foam and turned the shower off.

“Not so good times for me.”

We stepped out and I grabbed the towel that Kōshi had previously dropped to the floor. He took another one from the hanger and covered my head with it.

“Got you.”

“You certainly did. Bend down a little.”

We patted each other's hair with the towels until they weren't dripping any more.

“I didn't bring a change of clothes from the wardrobe,” Kōshi mumbled.

“And I was kind of improvising, so…”

“Mine are dirty.”

“Mine are wet.”

We stared at each other with narrowed eyes.

“Rock-paper-scissors.”

Fifteen seconds later, Kōshi wrapped the towel around his lower half and left the bathroom to get the clothes for both of us while I combed my hair.

The door opened.

“You have no shirts in here,” Kōshi said. “I can borrow you one of mine…”

“I won't say no to that.” I grinned.

“Well, I believe the two of you have met before.” Kōshi grinned back and raised his hand to show what he picked out for me.

The purple shirt. 

Or rather The Purple Shirt.

“Sure we did.”

I slipped it on and was about to button up when I noticed that Kōshi was still holding his clothes and staring at me instead of putting them on.

“What is it?”

“You look really good.”

I narrowed my eyes smugly. The bathroom in itself was tiny, so all I had to do was to take one step forward to nearly stand on Kōshi's toes. I raised my chin to bring our faces bare millimetres apart, so close that my eyes couldn't catch focus and his face was slightly blurry in my vision.

“How good?” I asked quietly.

Kōshi licked his lips.

“Beautiful.”

He dropped his clothes onto the floor and backed me up to the wall.

“Breathtaking.”

He grazed my cheek with the pads of his fingers.

“Perfect…”

He got to his knees and kissed my bare hip.

“A goddess.”

We were locked in a narrow, cluttered bathroom, mostly naked, hair damp and skin about to cover in goosebumps, and I had not a trace of doubt that Kōshi meant every single word as it was. He moved his hands to the small of my back, slipped them underneath the loosely hanging shirt, traced them up my sides, lightly skimmed at my breasts and then slid down to my hips while he sat down on his heels and kissed my skin anywhere he could reach.

Kōshi glanced up at me with feverish eyes.

I let out a shaky breath I had been withholding ever since he knelt down, and leaned my back against the tiled wall, allowing Kōshi to lift my thigh and drape my right leg over his shoulder.

“That's… that's some way of worship you're going at here,” I uttered, unable to look away.

“Anything for you,” Kōshi murmured without any sort of teasing and it was the last thing he said before he tilted his chin and pressed his lips to my slit.

I closed my eyes with a sigh. Kōshi gripped my hip tighter and moved his right hand somewhere away from me, perhaps to touch himself. He slipped his tongue between my folds and licked up towards my clit, slowly, so slowly.

“Hnnn!” I hunched forward and gripped onto his shoulders. “Kōshi...”

Kōshi glanced up at me and thrust his tongue inside, not wasting any time on building up pace, reaching as far into me as he was able to. I choked on my breath and clenched my fingers in his damp hair when he let go of my hip and replaced his tongue with two of his fingers so he could lick my clit instead. I bit into my lower lip in futile attempt to shut myself up. Kōshi shuddered and groaned and paused for a second to catch his breath, and then sped up his efforts, and I nearly doubled over, too overwhelmed to keep a feeble mewl from escaping between my teeth.

Kōshi slid his fingers out from me and kept me steady with his left hand while I moved my thigh off his shoulder, sank to my knees to sit in his lap, panting heavily and looking at him with unfocused eyes. He stared back at me with the same kind of expression, cheeks still red and his lips and chin glistening. He raised his right hand. It was the one he had been keeping away from me and now it was sticky with his come. He pressed his index and middle finger to my lips and watched intently as I licked them clean.

“I think we are up for another shower,” I said. “Preferably a quick one. I'm fairly sure Kuroo is ready to barge in any time now.”

Kōshi nodded.

“And also—” he smiled softly— “I meant what I said. You are _divine_.”

* * *

“This isn't how I imagined spending the last day of this year,” Kōshi remarked. “But I'm not complaining, of course.”

Tsukki meowed in his transport carrier that was laying in Kōshi's lap and I stuck my finger inside through the bars. Tsukki rubbed his cheek against it and meowed again.

“We'll have the whole café to ourselves.” I glanced at Kōshi. “Can't be helped, anyway.”

“They'll let him out soon,” Kōshi muttered. “Lev is out already. And Yamaguchi didn't do anything either, that's ridiculous.”

The same conversation route had been on repeat for the past two hours, first between Kuroo and me with Kenma as a silent listener, then Kōshi had joined in, and then it was just Kōshi and me when we took a train back home to pick up my cat and bring him with us to the café for the night.

The facts were these: initial notice from the coroner on site was that Masasumi died around 9 to 10 AM, which put Yamaguchi and Lev as immediate suspects.

Lev, who had been in the café since half past 7, was alone there for half an hour until the delivery of fruits and then flour and sugar at 9, the same time as Kōshi arrived. Lev was accompanied by the delivery men and his story was promptly confirmed at the police station.

Kōshi had met Mrs. Sakusa and her inherited sausage dog on the train when he was on his way to the café and the old lady insisted on tagging along to the very front door. After that, Kōshi was in the café with Lev and Mrs. Sakusa for over half an hour and then left with her. They parted ways at the train station, with Mrs. Sakusa going to the market, and Kōshi going to get flea drops from the veterinarian.

In the meantime, Yamaguchi appeared at the café about 10 AM and joined Lev, who had been alone there for another 30 minutes after Kōshi's and Mrs. Sakusa's departure.

However, during that time, Lev was talking on the phone with a woman who was writing about animal cafés in Tokyo and was interested in including our place in her article.

That gave Lev a valid alibi for the entirety of Masasumi's suspected time of death. He was released in the late afternoon and returned home with Yaku.

Yamaguchi, on the other hand… 

The weather had been sunny and warmer than the previous days since the morning, and as Yamaguchi's flat was a comfortable walking distance from the café, he had decided to take a stroll. He had left home slightly earlier than usual, at 9, and unhurriedly made his way to work. He took a less frequented route to avoid crowds and although he did pass several pedestrians, there were no acquaintances among them that could testify for him and he didn't remember any details about them.

As such, when he got to the café at 10, there was over an hour during which no one could confirm that Yamaguchi was indeed simply taking a walk, and the timing fit perfectly with the time of the murder.

And now Yamaguchi was locked up at the station.

“Do you think Tsukishima is still there?”

“It's almost 7 already,” I replied quietly, “so he'll have to leave soon even if they've let him stay for that long.”

“Good that Kuroo's going to take him along so he won't be alone.” 

Kōshi stuck his finger through the bars as well but then scowled and retracted it immediately. He stared at me with a deadpan expression.

“He bit me.”

“Tsukki hates index fingers.”

“… he _what_ now?”

I snorted.

“Any finger is good but not the index finger.” I giggled, but my smile faded out right after. “Yeah. Tsukishima never talks about serious stuff to anyone besides Yamaguchi, so now he doesn't have anyone to he'd willingly vent to.” I glanced up at the ceiling. “Kuroo is good at bringing out Tsukishima's nasty side, though, so I'm fairly sure he'll make him let out at least _something_ and make him feel less crappy.”

“Sounds like he didn't change much since high school in that manner,” Kōshi mused. “He bottles up everything, especially negative emotions.” He gave me a crooked smile. “Not that _I_ am much better off in this manner.”

“I suspect that among us, only Lev is somewhat skilled when it comes to this. Tsukishima would call it a privilege of a simpleton, probably. Personally, I'd call it Tsukishima being envious.” I took out my finger from the cage and pulled the thermal cover over it. “Let's go, that's our station.”

“You know,” Kōshi spoke up when we exited the station and headed towards the café, “I think we are making progress in talking about our issues to each other.” He looked at me with warm eyes.

“That's true.” I nodded and swung our laced hands back and forth lightly.

Like we wordlessly understood that perhaps we should try directing our attention away from what had happened earlier for the time being. Until tomorrow morning, at least.

“And… um… how should I say this…” Kōshi huffed out a white cloud of breath. “I just… I… there is so much I have to tell that I don't know… I don't know where to start. And also there's that I don't want to… I don't want to throw everything at you at once. There's just… there's just a lot.”

“Well, I'd like to know all about you. So throw it. Happy and sad. I'll throw mine at you, too.” My eyes widened and I stared up at him. “I've just got the best idea ever.”

Kōshi squeezed my hand and we stopped walking. He turned his head from side to side as if he was searching for something.

“Wha—”

He leaned down and landed a loud, warm kiss square on my lips. He pulled back with a huge smile and resumed the walk as if nothing happened.

“I simply felt like it,” he explained before I gathered my focus to ask. “You're so sweet that I can't help myself.”

_Ah, so he was checking if anyone was in proximity._

“Kōshi…”

“Yeah?”

“It could be a bit awkward with all the cats around.”

“What could— _oh_.”

Kōshi halted again and I stood still when he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and his lips nearly brushed against it as he whispered to me:

“Then we're going to do it in the storage room and later every time you walk in there, it will remind you.”

He straightened up.

“Where did you get that idea?” I asked faintly.

He didn't answer at first so I peeked at him only to discover that his face was deep red.

“I'm not sure why I said that,” he stammered in a suspiciously thin voice, stubbornly avoiding looking at me.

“I suppose I wouldn't be the only one remembering,” I pointed out.

Kōshi muffled his laugh in his hand.

“I can't disagree with that.”

New snow started falling from the sky obscured by the city light pollution. We marched forward and Tsukki meowed in his basket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take your shot at what "the best idea ever" is. I'll tell you, things are going to get extra.
> 
> Who sucks at regular updates? I do! I want to post chapters with 7K+ wordcount and at the same time I want to post them as often as possible, but then I of course can't manage to do that and feel too embarrassed to post shorter chapters, especially after I did upload some 9K+ behemoths. And by the time I have anything, the break between posting gets so huge that I want to crawl under a rock and die. :)))) This is my life. (This also doesn't exclude replying to comments.)


	11. AB Rh-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sudden change of plans for the New Year's Eve, surprise morning calls, an unplanned rescue, more unexpected phone calls… that is sure one uncommon way to start a year. If only all goes well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 months late to the New Year, now you can relive it! … and get 50% off?
> 
> This is an emotional roller-coaster once more and I have to admit I've never been as proud of a chapter as of this one. Also, I consider the smut in this one the best smut I've written in my life. I physically clapped at myself when I finished it. This is now officially the longest story I've ever written, too… and the longest chapter… so many records beat. What a time to be alive, I really have made a lot of progress since I started writing.
> 
> Fun fact: when writing, I often listen to full albums or various music compilations. For this chapter, I was listening to this [Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong duet collection.](https://youtu.be/7ufYSNQjadk)
> 
> And now… RELEASE THE CHEESE. (⊙▽⊙)ﾉ~☆･ﾟ+｡*ﾟ･.+

Kōshi stared at the two big bottles of Russian moonshine (courtesy of Lev's family) on the kotatsu table and whistled.

“And that is… what percentage, exactly?”

“It's home-made.”

“So you don't know.”

“Nope. Although…” I frowned. “Do you perhaps know how strong alcohol has to be to be flammable?”

“Don't tell me you can set that thing on fire.”

“Yaku did. With Yamaguchi's lighter.”

Kōshi squinted and fished out his phone and typed in a few words. He snorted.

“If you just type in _how strong alcohol_ , the first suggestion adds _to make it burn_. Oh.” He glanced at me. “It's gotta be at least fifty percent.”

“… well, we did drink it with Lev and Yaku last year, so it's not lethal. Though we got ridiculously shitfaced after a bottle for three of us.”

“And we have one bottle per one person each here.”

I grinned.

“One shot every two questions. I was thinking one for one, but I suspect we'd end up face-down before midnight.”

“We've got snacks,” Kōshi remarked with a playful smirk,“cats are taken care of, everything's wrapped up, so we might just as well do that.”

I sat under the kotatsu in front of Kōshi, pulled the first bottle and a set of two shot glasses closer, and pointedly cracked my knuckles.

“All right. I'll go first. With something easy for the start.” I pursed my lips for a moment and then locked my eyes with him. “What did you actually study at the university?”

“Astrophysics. I'm serious.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Not. It was the incredibly fascinating art of accounting.” He traced his finger along a scratch on the table's surface. “Why did you name your cat Tsukki?”

“I didn't. Yamaguchi did, and then the cat didn't want to react to anything else, which got Yamaguchi a win in another bet. Tsukishima never admitted it, but he's secretly proud of it. How many times did you call a teacher _mum_ at school?”

“Good god, have mercy!”

“God might have some mercy. I don't.” I blew a raspberry at him.

“Oooh, just you wait. Your face shall burn.” He clicked his tongue. “Never happened to me. Not once.” He frowned. “Or maybe I don't remember.”

“Aww, how boring. Your turn.”

“The most awkward high school memory.”

“That is so not fair!” I scowled.

“No mercy, right?” Kōshi repeated after me and wiggled his eyebrows.

“You're sooo going to regret that.”

“Chances are none of us will remember anything in the morning.”

I leaned closer and rested my chin on my hand. Kōshi stared at me teasingly.

“You will be kneeling before my throne of victory by the time we are done, Kōshi.”

Four shots and at least six laughing fits later, both of us had slight red blush and way wider smiles.

The fifth shot went down and I gave Kōshi a crooked smirk.

“I can hold my liliquor, see?”

“You've just said _liliquor_.” He coughed in a failed attempt at masking a laugh.

“I did not.” I pouted and then narrowed my eyes, raising one eyebrow with the same funny smile. “Your first time. Spill it, Kōshi.”

Kōshi sighed with mock exasperation.

“And here I was wondering who would get to the sticky stuff first.”

“You've literally just asked me if I ever walked in on Kuroo and Kenma,” I pointed out. “And it gave me war flashing… flashbacks, I mean.”

“Ah, you're right. So it was me.” Kōshi scrunched up his face in concentration. “Last year of high school, with a captain of another volleyball team.” He tapped his chin with his index finger. “That was after a match they lost against us.”

“Wait. _Waaait_ …” My jaw dropped. “IT WAS A GUY!”

“It was a guy.” He shot a double finger-gun at me. Then he narrowed his eyes, observing my expression. “Your imagination just went places, didn't it.”

“You bet it did.” My lips stretched in a toothy grin. “So who…”

“Neither,” Kōshi cut in before I finished my question. “Just a mutual handjob, kind of, that still counts, right? Since it was with another person.”

“I think it does?” I raised my eyebrows in an amazing revelation. “Didn't you mention the other day that you broke your arm in the last year of high school? Don't tell me…”

I started cackling.

Kōshi spat out his orange juice back into his glass.

“ _That's_ where your imagination went, of all places?” he wheezed between laughing his lungs out. He stretched out on the floor, shaking a little with now silent giggles. His hair was dishevelled, his cheeks red, and his eyes were glimmering when he stared up at me.

He slowly raised his hand and beckoned me with a wave. He didn't bother sitting up.

I slipped out from underneath the kotatsu and crawled to him on all fours.

“Now it's my turn to ask,” he drawled, skimming his fingers under my chin and then trailing them to the back of my head. “How long can you kiss me without taking a breath?”

I pressed my lips to his instead of a verbal reply. Kōshi wrapped his arms around me and pulled me down, squished our chests together, kissed back fervently. There was no gradation, no testing time, it was messy and searing hot in an instant, tongues sliding against each other, fingers tangling into hair, diving underneath clothes and digging into skin, until I tilted my head up and nearly choked on an overdue inhale.

“This long,” I panted against his mouth.

We were both after five rounds of shots, but only now Kōshi actually looked hazy, with a fogged-over gaze under half-lidded eyes, with glistening lips.

Kiss drunk.

He cupped my face and rubbed my cheeks with his thumbs.

“Do you have any idea how you look right now?” he murmured. “I want to eat you up.”

A corner of my mouth twitched up in a small smirk. I pressed my finger to his mouth.

“It's my turn for a question now.” I trailed my finger down his chin, his throat. I hooked it at his collar. “What exactly are you planning?”

Kōshi licked his lips. He sat up, leaned closer, and whispered right into my ear— 

“I'm going to bend you over this exact table here and then fuck you until you can't speak.”

I let out a breathy groan.

Kōshi shuffled a bit backwards, away from the kotatsu, and ran his stare up and down my figure.

“Turn around, sweetheart.”

I did as he requested and was suddenly pulled into his lap, so quickly and without a warning that I slammed into his chest with my back and lost balance and only didn't topple over to the side thanks to Kōshi having his arms wrapped around my waist.

“Well now—” I started teasingly, but was cut off when Kōshi coughed forcefully.

“I think—” he coughed again— “you hit my stomach—” he let go of me and plastered his hand over his mouth— “a bit too much—”

I barely rolled off him onto the floor before Kōshi scrambled up and dashed to the bathroom.

I blinked several times, forcing my brain to catch up with what had just happened. I stood up like a programmed robot, picked up an empty glass that used to hold juice, and made my way after him.

“I'm never drinking that again,” Kōshi mumbled ten minutes later, exhausted, sitting on the tiles next to the toilet, with a still slightly green face. He was clutching a glass of water I gave him while I kept stroking his shoulders nearly by default by now.

It wasn't me who spent the past ten minutes being pitifully sick, but it seemed like it significantly sobered me up by proxy.

“It was my stupid idea, I'm—”

“—don't,” Kōshi cut in. “Don't apologise.” He gave me a weak smile, but then scowled and covered his mouth. After a little hiccup, he blinked and straightened up again. “I'm okay. False alarm. I hope.” He stared at the glass he was holding in a shaking hand. “I'm an adult, you know, and I make my own decisions. They are pretty dumb way too often for my liking, but that's still on me.”

He set the glass on the floor and rubbed his face.

“I think I'll manage to clean myself up now. But I also reckon that's about as much workout as I can do for the time being.”

I nodded and leaned closer to kiss his temple.

“Cuddles sound good?”

“Just not laying flat and nothing on my stomach,” he muttered. “Sounds perfect.”

He cautiously got to his feet.

“So far, so good, I guess.”

While Kōshi was brushing his teeth, I gathered the bottles and hid them out of sight in the corner of the room, between the low wardrobe and the wall. The shot glasses ended up there as well. After a moment of consideration, I moved some of the food from the kotatsu on the top of the wardrobe.

I opened the wardrobe to get out the futon when Kōshi stepped out of the bathroom. His face was a bit pink from rubbing it dry with a towel.

“Feeling better?”

“Quite so. And also more and more like a dumbass now,” he added with a sour pout, but it then melted into a warm smile. “But a ridiculously happy dumbass nevertheless.” 

“Oh?” I smiled, too. “I wonder why.”

He walked over and helped me to spread the futon, throw on it pillows and a duvet.

“You know exactly why,” Kōshi said after we both sat down back at the kotatsu. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my temple before he pressed his cheek to my hair.

“I think I still would like to hear it.” I took his other hand and stroked his knuckles with my thumb.

“As you wish. Give me a moment, I'm going to come up with the ultimate cheesiest way to put it,” he murmured. He turned his hand and entwined our fingers. “Well, then… butterflies are swirling in my stomach at a smallest thought about you. When I hear your voice… I feel… feel like I can breathe so freely… and… and effortlessly, like I have been holding my breath… all my life… until now. When I see you, it's like… warmth… spreading along my veins, down to my feet and the tips of my fingers. When you say that you love me, I'm just about ready to burst from so much… overwhelming… intense joy. When I think that you want to stay with me… even after all this crap you've seen and you know about me… I would… I would tear my heart out and offer it to you in my hands… if you only wished so. I would… walk… to the other side of the world… walk on my knees… to bring you a grain of sand, if you wished so. That's how happy you make me. Even more than that. I just can't describe properly.”

I blinked twice and realised that I forgot to breathe. Kōshi raised my hand and kissed the top of my palm slowly.

“That… was… beyond any expectations,” I uttered finally. 

Kōshi smiled against my skin and kissed my hand again. I turned around and nuzzled his cheek before I sank my fingers into his hair. I stroked his head and let myself be embraced gently, listened to his calm breath and quick heartbeat.

“I really… really… love you,” I said softly. “I never would've thought it could be so… intense, but at the same time, um…” I trailed off, searching for a proper word.

“Even,” Kōshi suggested.

“Yeah. Even. Stable. A constant line. Like…” I closed my eyes, letting my mind wander. “Like a string. Sometimes tangled and never really forming a straight line for long, but it's all an uncut thread. No breaks in it. No holes. No split ends.” I pouted. “Oh. So I just went around to rediscover the concept of the red string of fate.” 

I opened my eyes and immediately covered my face with my hand. 

“Oh crap, that was the corniest thing I've ever said. I want to crawl under a rock and die.”

“My cheesiness is growing on you,” Kōshi drawled with a smile in his voice. “And I don't mind it a single bit.” He glanced at the digital clock and frowned. “Um, so… it's been a new year for almost five minutes now.”

“Ah. That might explain the noise outside.”

“I have to agree with that.”

“Wait, doesn't that mean that…” I tried to estimate the timing in my head even though it was nearly impossible. “I think the first thing this new year here was you blowing my mind with your confession.”

“Then you are saying we've got a serious good luck charm now.”

“I was about to say that it got—” I paused. “You know what? Fuck _cheesy_. You are right. It was the best, the most heartfelt, the most romantic thing I've heard in my entire life, and the most amazing thing is that it was addressed to me from you, and you can ask me whenever and I'll be able to quote it word for word. Starting a whole new year with it is perfect.”

Kōshi slid his hands to my waist and moved me away a little to look at me. He stared for a long moment with half-lidded eyes under his long eyelashes into mine, with a mix of absolute adoration and that particular tone of determination. He cupped my face and drew closer, closer… closer… 

“I really want to make out of with you right now,” he murmured against my lips.

“I thought you said you wouldn't manage anything more than careful cuddling,” I said teasingly. I trailed my fingers up his chest. “Didn't you?”

“Well, it seems to me that I have recovered.”

Kōshi stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. He closed his eyes and let his hands wander, he sank his fingers into my hair and carded through the strands to the very tips, he rested his forehead against mine and sighed.

“On the second thought, maybe not exactly _want to_. More like _need to_.”

He kissed me unhurriedly, thoughtfully, like he was set on memorising everything about the current moment. One of his hands stopped at the back of my neck; the other went back to my cheek and he stroked it with the topside of his fingers.

“ _And_ want to.”

He withdrew a fraction and slowly opened his eyes. Full-blown pupils surrounded by that chocolate-warm irises were almost hypnotising me in the way they seemed to want to consume me.

“I should tell you something important,” I mumbled, tracing my index finger along his jaw. “And cool.”

Kōshi's breath, a little faster than calm, fanned over my mouth. He licked his lips and moved his hand from my nape to the small of my back.

“Hmm? What is it?”

His other hand found mine and he raised it to place lingering kisses on my knuckles, one after another, then on my palm, on my wrist… 

“I started on the pill ten days ago. So we're good to go by now.”

He paused. He put my hand on his chest and grazed my nose with his, smirking a little.

“That _is good_ to know.” He left a brief kiss at the corner of my mouth, then a second one closer to the middle, then another, one more, more, more, more— “And you are just—” _more_ — “too much… to…”

The sentence remained unfinished, outweighed by a dizzying kiss. Kōshi's hands slipped under the back of my blouse and trailed up along my spine, right to the clasp of my bra. He succeeded with undoing it at the third time and wasted not a second to move his hands to my chest, to palm my breasts directly.

“Kō… ahh…”

I pushed him down, urged him to get out from under the kotatsu and move to the futon, crawled after him and straddled his thighs, tugged off my blouse and my bra and threw them to the floor. Kōshi sat up and pulled off his tshirt, wrapped his arms around me and flipped us over, pressed his hips to mine and glanced at me before he got his tongue on my breast.

“You… are… captivating…” he whispered. He licked my nipple and stroked the other one with the pads of his fingers. “Irresistible… delectable…”

“That choice of words makes—” I began, not nearly composed enough to make _my_ wording work. “I'm—”

“Smitten?” Kōshi suggested. “Enraptured? Impassioned?”

“I have no idea how you are able to come up with so many of those right now,” I uttered. I grasped at his hair, cradled his head to my chest, played with the short strands that were brushing his nape.

“Only for now,” he replied. “It will be getting harder.”

He halted.

“Do you realise what you just—” The rest of my sentence got lost in a giggle when I noticed that his ears were turning red.

“Yeah. Not intended.” Kōshi snorted and pressed his face into my chest. His voice was muffled when he added, “well, it's happening already anyway.”

“Which one?”

“Obviously, both.”

I couldn't come up with a reply before he shifted up along my body and kissed me with a sort of heaviness, _weight_ that melted me to the last bone and left me dazed and clutching onto his shoulders so hard that my fingernails must have left marks on his skin. 

Kōshi slid his hand down my thigh and slipped it under the hem of my skirt, pulling it up along as he reached my underwear and brushed his knuckle over it. The corners of his mouth twitched in a brief smile when he realised how sticky the fabric had become. He licked into my mouth at the same time as he hooked my underwear aside and thrust his middle finger into me.

I broke the kiss with a gasp, throwing my head back and squeezing my eyes shut.

“Feels good?” Kōshi purred right into my ear as he crooked his finger and gently stroked me inside. He kissed my jaw and smiled wider when all I could do was to nod and let out a little moan.

“I kind of want to—” he added a second finger and kissed my cheek when I responded louder than previously— “leave this skirt on you, hmm… the underwear, too.”

I laughed breathlessly.

“That can be… managed…” I bit my lips and trailed my hand down his side, to his waist, hip, and I tugged at his belt. “But… all of your clothes… off.”

“I had a suspicion you'd say that.” He nuzzled my throat and retracted his fingers. “As you wish…”

He sat back to get off his jeans and boxers, all while watching me splayed on the futon, bare from waist up, with skirt hiked up to my waist, exposing my soaked underwear. He threw his clothes to the floor and ran his hand through his hair, slicking it backwards.

“I'm literally the luckiest person alive and I'm seriously not exaggerating,” he said in amazement.

I grinned and beckoned him with my finger. 

Kōshi dropped to his hands and knees and then settled on top of me, wasting no time in pressing his lips to mine but then moving them slowly, slowly, he softly bit my lower lip and licked it, he slipped his tongue into my mouth and hummed. He suspended himself on one arm and stroked his free hand over my chest, he spread his fingers and grabbed my breast, squeezed it and released, he flicked my nipple with his index finger.

He pressed his hips harder against mine and squeezed my breast in his hand again. I trailed my toes up and down the back of his calf and spread my legs wider, inviting him closer, cradling him in.

He pulled back from my lips a fraction.

“I love you,” he whispered. He grazed my chin with his nose to tilt my head up and kissed the tender skin underneath it. “I love you.” He shifted his hips, rubbed his cock over my underwear and exhaled my name a shaky breath. “I… love you…”

“Kōshi…” I murmured. I smoothed my hands up his sides, to his stomach, his chest, over his nipples and to his collarbones, his neck, and I cupped his face. I kissed him right below his eye, the corner of his mouth, his lips. “Mmnn… I love you, too… Kōshi…”

All air left my lungs in a gasp when he rolled his hips at mine again and I moved my hands to hold onto his shoulders. Kōshi's eyes were enthralling, watching me mesmerized… that usually warm, calming brown now fired up to searing-hot intensity, bewitching me in his wide pupils.

“I love you.”

Kōshi stroked my bare thigh up and down, and then moved his fingers to my belly, traced his index finger alone down over my underwear, pressing it harder the lower he went. I bit my lips when he stopped at my entrance, where the fabric was absolutely soaked through, clinging to me.

“I love you.”

He kissed my cheek and trailed his lips to my mouth.

He hooked his finger at my underwear to tug it aside and shifted his hips to nudge me with the head of his cock. He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth and hissed my name again, and I locked my ankles above his hips, and kissed him, and breathed out his name.

“Remember what I told you that morning after you stayed over?” Kōshi asked against my lips. “I said I would fuck you until you cry for more of me.”

He entered me smoothly in one thrust, all of him, to the base, he withdrew his free hand in a split second and grabbed onto my hip, squeezed it hard. I opened my mouth in a silent gasp and threw my head back.

He pressed his forehead between my breasts, he raised his hips halfway and thrust in deep again, setting a slow, heavy pace.

“I love you… hnn…”

I ran my fingers through his hair, I opened my eyes and for a moment stared at the ceiling, until I tilted his chin to make him look at me. There was a gorgeous pink blush on his cheeks, parted lips were slick and almost bruised, and with another thrust into me he leaned in and kissed me like he wanted to show that all the previous kisses were nowhere near enough, never near enough, utterly insatiable and starved. 

Kōshi had his heart in his eyes, uncovered and vulnerable, and my gaze must have been just as striking, spellbinding to him as his was to me, because he gave me the most heartfelt, lovestruck, warmest smile, that kind that could only come from Sugawara Kōshi and no one else in the entire world.

He was beautiful.

He glanced at my lips and back to my eyes, and he didn't close his when he pressed his lips to mine. He wrapped his arm around my chest and hugged me tightly, never stopping his hips all the while. I embraced him, too, wanting to feel as much of him as possible, touch skin on skin, soak in and melt together.

“I love you,” he whispered, following it with a whole string of repeating my name over and over, laced through with just as many confessions and kisses.

“Kōshi—” I choked out, squeezing my toes and digging my fingernails into his shoulder blades. “Kōshi— faster— _more— Kōshi—_ ”

Kōshi groaned like he was wounded, he lifted himself on his elbows and drove his hips at mine just like I wanted, quick, deep, shuddering each time he pushed in. He sucked a bruise under my collarbone, a second one next to it, another above my breast, one more on my neck, fifth one below it. He raised his head high, eyes squeezed shut and a wrinkle between his eyebrows, biting into his lower lip, not muffling whatsoever the moan that escaped his throat.

“Nghhh— aaah…”

He opened his eyes and moved his right hand to palm my breast, then press his finger into the dark red blotch he had just made above it. He touched the other bruises, too, one by one, and each time something different sparked in his eyes, something feral but not quite, something raw.

“I love you… I lo… ve… you…”

I scratched fiery lines down his chest, and pulled him to my lips to leave feverish kisses anywhere and everywhere I could reach.

“I…” Kōshi moaned when I reached his lips and licked into his mouth—

“I… aaaah—” 

He slid his free hand between us and stopped it at my clit, he gasped my name and moved his fingers, made them dance, beckon me, reel me in and carry me to the edge, draw broken moans out of me, make my legs tremble around him.

“More, Kōshi— more, _more!_ ”

Kōshi let out a long, defenceless groan that melted into my name. He was losing his rhythm, slamming into me desperately, too far gone to keep clarity but coherent enough to continue rubbing me, forgetting precision, but still mercilessly effective. I sunk my fingers into his hair and crashed my lips to his, making him swallow a loud, raspy, high-pitched moan while I trashed under him, unable to keep my legs wrapped around him any more. My feet fell back to the futon while my hips involuntarily were bucking up into his, tears trickled down from my closed eyes and my nails were scratching his back so hard it really must have _hurt_. 

Kōshi drank in my reactions in a daze. He threw his head back and he choked on his breath, he arched his back and I could see the tendons on his neck going taut, his jaw slack before he clenched his teeth and bit into his lower lip, he gripped the sheet next to my head in a white-knuckled fist.

“Nhh— aaah— AAAAAAH—”

His whole body tensed and shuddered and he was spilling into me, he pressed his forehead to my chest and groaned weakly once, twice, once more, and then he stilled, panting against my breast. 

He released his grip on the sheet and slid his arm under my back to embrace me, he turned his head to rest his cheek on me instead. I sluggishly stroked his messed up hair, allowing my body to calm itself on its own, from the blinding high into a blissful, soothing warmth.

“That was perfect,” Kōshi whispered, too wrecked to put any volume into his voice. 

I had only as much energy as to hum in reply and keep caressing him. 

He unsteadily raised himself on his elbows to look at me with the softest, sweetly tired smile. He kissed me tenderly, slowly, letting that softness and sweetness seep into me.

“You are perfect,” Kōshi continued. 

He licked away any dried-up traces of tears from my face like a cat and then kissed me again. He nuzzled my cheek, scooped my hand into his and rubbed his cheek at my palm.

“I love you… so much. So much.” 

“I know,” I murmured softly. “I love you too, Kō.”

We both winced, still over-sensitive, when he pulled out. His come started leaking out of me, some of it soaking into my drenched underwear and the rest trickling down to my bunched-up skirt and the futon, but at the moment I was too exhausted to care about any stains. Kōshi sat back on his heels, closed his eyes and stretched his arms. He scratched his head and reached to the kotatsu to grab a box of tissues.

“A bit of a clean-up first, then more cuddles,” he said teasingly. 

Kōshi looked at me and the box slipped out of his hands. His gaze wandered all around my body, lingering a couple of times at the mess between my thighs. The mess _he_ made.

“This… is the hottest thing… I've ever seen.” He licked his lips.

I managed to give him a smug smile.

“There's more where it came from,” I replied. “Just so you'd know…”

“Oh, I know all right…”

He leaned down over me and planted a loud, wet kiss on my cheek.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Kōshi.” 

I hummed and let him take care of me, wipe most of the excessive mess with the tissues and then pull me up and hold me closely as we made our way to the shower. 

He was right. Of course, that time on the unpacked futon in my new flat ( _and the number of times after unpacking_ ) when we fucked ourselves silly were amazing. But this time was so much different, so bared and vulnerable, satiable and insatiable at once, just like Kōshi said — _perfect_. It left both of us stripped to the raw core.

Eventually we ended up under the covers, lights switched off and only muffled sounds of late celebrations filling the background beneath our steady breaths. Too lazy to put on any clothes, we simply cuddled skin-to-skin, sharing warmth and wholehearted happiness.

“Mnn, Kōshi?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

I could feel his lips stretching into a smile against my shoulder before he kissed the spot. He tightened his arm around me for a moment, pressing my back more to his chest — not that there was any space to fill in to begin with.

“I love you, too.”

“And Happy New Year.”

“Mm, Happy New Year.” 

He moved his hand from my waist to my bare breast and squeezed it playfully. I shook with a silent giggle and laced my fingers through his. I kissed his knuckles and rested our hands, still linked, on the futon.

* * *

It felt like only a short moment passed until I was mercilessly woken up by my phone ringing.

It was barely dark grey outside.

I groaned and shuffled deeper under the futon, deciding to ignore what was most likely a drunk best wishes call. I cuddled closer to Kōshi and pressed my face to his bare skin. Kōshi mumbled something I couldn't discern and wrapped his arms around me, he squeezed me tightly to his chest and muttered something incoherent again.

The phone started ringing the second time.

“Uuuuurgh, whattimeisssit…?” I slurred, scowling, but not budging a single bit from my comfortable, _so comfortable_ spot.

“Mmnffffnnn…” Kōshi turned his head and yawned. “Six… something, if I can see well.”

“I think it will keep ringing until I pick up…” 

I raised my hand to rub my eyes. My limbs were heavy, weighted down by sleep and the sex from a couple of hours ago, and the absolute comfort of sharing undisturbed warmth with Kōshi. Getting up was the last thing I wanted to do. 

“Can I even reach it from here?”

The lit up screen was located on the edge of the kotatsu.

“Probably not,” he mumbled. “But maybe I can.”

The ringtone stopped and after a brief pause, it began playing the third time. Kōshi stretched out his arm towards the kotatsu and barely, barely skimmed my phone with the tip of his finger. He grunted, shifted a little closer to the table, and managed to slide the phone to him, and then pinch it between his index finger and his thumb.

“… there we go.”

He handed it to me and I squinted my eyes, struggling to see who was calling.

“ _Bokuto?_ Of all people?”

I picked up and was instantly flooded with super-speed whining so deafening that I had to move the phone away from my ear a bit.

“I found her there andthenthatandthen and now where I—” he sobbed.

“Bokuto… what? Wait, start from the beginning—”

“—and then there were these three kittens andthenKeijisaysthatandwhatdo—” he sniffed loudly.

Kōshi turned on the small, dim lamp that stood next to the futon. He stared at me in half-conscious confusion.

“Bokuto, oi!” I hissed. “Take a deep breath and tell me what happened. What woman? What kittens?”

Bokuto broke off in a middle of his never-ending sentence and really did take a huge, slow breath.

“So Keiji was feeling sick, because he drank that thing that Lev brought, but we ran out of ginger, so I went to the shop to— and then I heard a meow, and then I went to check it out, so then I saw in a side alley a cat, then I saw that it was not moving, and I think it's stiff, and then I saw these three tiny kittens behind it, and I think that's their mum, and she's dead, and they are so tiny, like seriously tiny, and it's so cold, and snow, and they are alone, and I called Keiji, and he said I should call Lev, but his phone is turned off, so I got an idea I should call you, and I know it's late, I mean it's early, but what—”

“Okay,” I cut in, “okay, I get the picture.” I sighed and scratched my head. “Uh… um… okay. Right. First… is their mother really dead? Can you check? Just don't touch her with bare hands.”

“I've got leather gloves, that— that fine?”

“Peachy. And be careful.”

“They are so tiny!” Bokuto whined. “Like really, seriously tiny! I could hold two in one hand, so tiny, seriously tiny—” he sobbed louder yet— “Uuuu— uuuuugh, she's dead, she's all stiff, their mum is dead, I'm gonna cry, seriously! What should I do?!”

“First, calm down. Take a deep breath again. Two deep breaths.”

“Okay—” Bokuto sniffed and did as I asked. “Okay. What do I do?”

I yawned.

“All right… where are you exactly? Far from the café?”

“Maybe… uh… half an hour… in a taxi? Probs a bit longer in a bus.”

Kōshi was struggling not to fall asleep; his eyes were closing for a longer moment and then he was rapidly opening them and blinking several times.

“Are you wearing a hat? Or a wide scarf?”

“Both? Keiji always tells me—”

“Awesome. Put the kittens into your hat. Gently, be careful. Make it into something like a nest, get it? And wrap the scarf around it, too, but not too tight, don't squish them together. And leave it open on the top, they need to breathe.”

There was lots of shuffling and a knock on Bokuto's side; he must have put his phone on the ground while he was taking care of the kittens. 

Kōshi ultimately dozed off, his head sank into the pillow and his breathing evened out. I smiled and tugged the futon to make sure he was properly covered.

Bokuto picked up again. His voice turned back into a stuffed-nosey, humid mumbling.

“Okay, I think I've got it… they are _so tiny_ , they like, like, they like weight nothing!”

“They are tiny because they are young cats, Bokuto. They are supposed to be tiny,” I said quietly, paying attention not to wake up Kōshi. “Do you know where the closest vet clinic is?”

“No idea. Can't I bring them to you? I don't know anything about keeping cats and—” Bokuto was growing more and more distressed with each word.

I pursed my lips and scratched my head. The digital clock was performing a visual equivalent of screams of terror with its red, angular 6:23AM.

“So you would be here… around… what time?”

“About seven? No, wait. I still have to take the stuff to Keiji… quarter past seven? Maybe half past… ”

“All right.” I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “Call me when you'll be near. And be gentle with the kittens. Keep them warm.”

“Yes!” Bokuto replied so eagerly that I half expected him to add _sir_ or _ma'am_ to it. “I will do my best!”

“That's the spirit. See you soon.”

I put my phone down and flopped back onto the futon like a dead fish. Kōshi stirred and opened his eyes.

“Oh. I fell asleep.” He squinted and scowled a little, and looked at me again with a sleepy smile. “How did the unexpected rescue go?”

“He'll be here in about an hour,” I muttered, wiggling as close as I could and allowing myself to be wrapped in his arms and snuggle. “I don't wanna get up, Kō…”

I snaked my arm around his side and slowly stroked his back, and hooked my leg over his hip.

“I'll have to put on some clothes,” I whined. “And go outside, and take the kittens to the vet, and…”

“I'll go with you.” He sighed. “Nnn, yeah, we'll have to put on some clothes, true that.” He held my cheek in his hand and brushed his thumb over my lower lip. He exhaled slowly through his nose and kissed me softly. He closed his eyes and smiled against my lips. “First morning kiss in the new year?”

“I was so unprepared, how dare you?” I pouted for a second, but in the end I couldn't help grinning like an idiot.

Kōshi hugged me a little tighter before turning onto his back and pulling me along, making me stick to his side like the cuddle octopus monster I was.

“Such an uncivilised thief I am, I know.”

“Oh? What else are you going to steal from me?” I propped myself up on my elbow and stared down at him with a raised eyebrow.

Kōshi shook with a withheld laugh, but then his expression changed to something heavier. His hand unhurriedly trailed down my side, to my waist, to my hip, stroked a circle over my butt and settled at the small of my back.

“Your breath, maybe?”

I bit my lips and was just about to straddle his hips when he rolled us over with a grin… and startled tickling me.

It was difficult to decide who was laughing louder, but there was no doubt whose giggles turned into more of a wheeze mixed with breathlessly squealed _have mercy on me_. There was no mercy. There was no mercy either when I got a hold of Kōshi's foot and ruthlessly began running my fingers over the sole of it, successfully securing my victory.

Kōshi was still shaking with giggles when he wiped his eyes and lay back on the futon next to me.

“How do you rate my incredibly clever way of preventing falling asleep again?” he asked, turning his head to look at me.

“Seven out of ten,” I replied. “Very effective, I'm not sleepy. But now I feel like my muscles melted and I'm even more exhausted.”

“But still quite kissable, am I right?” Kōshi smirked teasingly and narrowed his eyes.

“Of course. And still very naked. Just like you, anyway.”

“Can't argue with that, ma'am.” He stuck out his tongue at me. He cupped my face and pulled me into a sweetly heartfelt kiss.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone rang for the fourth time.

“Is Bokuto really that fast?” I groaned and crawled over to grab it. “It hasn't been even half an—” I glanced at the screen and my jaw dropped a little. “… Inuoka?”

“Happy New—” I began, but Inuoka cut into my greeting.

“Kitty-Cat, is Sugawara with you? Is he there?”

“Y— yeah…? Why?”

I looked at Kōshi, puzzled, and he stared back at me. He raised his eyebrows, confused.

“Change from your pyjamas, police is—” he broke away and said something indiscernible away from the phone— “police is coming for him.”

“What? Why?!” My heart hammered in panic and I started shaking. Kōshi sat up grabbed my hand.

“What's going on?” he whispered. He rubbed my palm with his thumb, searching my eyes for an answer.

“The autopsy report just came in. Masasumi's TOD was way earlier than they had initially thought. He was laying right over a manhole and it kept his body warmer. Sugawara is the only one who has no alibi for that time. DNA tests will take a couple of days more, but the blood they found under Masasumi's fingernails as well as on his jacket is the same type as Sugawara's. And considering it's AB Rh-, which apparently is one of the rarest… Anyway, they are gonna bring him in. They've already left, they are gonna be there soon.” Inuoka sighed worriedly and cleared his throat. “I shouldn't be even telling you this, so please don't say where you got this from. I can't do anything about this, it's not my case. I'm so—”

“Where…?”

“His flat.” 

“I— I see…” I uttered in a thin voice. “Tha— thanks… Later…”

I ended the call and the phone slipped out of my hold. It landed on the futon with a quiet thud. I stared at the floor and felt tears gathering in my eyes before I even dared to look at him.

“Kō— shi—” I choked out. “Wha— it's—”

“Hey, look at me, look at me—” Kōshi put held my face in his hands and peered at me anxiously. “What's going on? What happened?”

“It's— they—” my face tensed in a distressed scowl and a sob escaped my throat. My next words fell out in a weak, throaty wail. “Police is going to take you…!”

All colour drained from his face.

“Wh—” He pressed his hand to his temple. “Why? I thought they— what all of a sudden—”

“They got the timing wrong before,” I whispered. I clenched my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. “And they found your blood type on the body…?”

“My blood type is uncommon,” Kōshi muttered absently.

He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close. I could feel his racing pulse and light shivers running through his body. He rocked us gently from side to side and stroked my hair, unable to speak for a while.

“You didn't do anything,” I whimpered, and he kissed my forehead. “They got it wrong, you didn't do anything…”

“How soon are they going to get here?”

“Not that soon… they didn't know you are here, so they went to the house first.” I sniffed and hid my face in his shoulder, I dug my fingertips into his back. “But Inuoka said that they left the station already.”

“So maybe half an hour. Maybe forty minutes.”

“I guess.”

Kōshi took a deep breath.

“We should put some clothes on—” one more deep breath— “and eat something. This is going to be a long day.” He kissed the top of my head, my temple, tilted my chin up with his fingers and kissed away a tear running down my cheek. He didn't look any less pale than before, but he gave me a small smile. “It's going to be all right, you hear me?” he said, but his voice broke at the end and his next deep breath was shaky. He blinked rapidly several times. “It's going to be all right.”

My chin shook and the corners of my lips turned down. I was unable to squeeze out a single word.

“Hey… hey, it's going to be okay, you've said so before, remember?” he murmured. “So it's going to be okay. We'll call Lev to come over, and Bokuto will be here soon, right? And you'll be looking after three tiny kittens! Three tiny kittens, how cute is that?”

I nodded and tried to smile, but ended up with something snotty and watery that didn't exactly resemble it.

“Come on, let's dress up. I don't want you to catch a cold, you know?” 

He kissed me once more, then stood up and pulled me to my feet, but instead of walking to the wardrobe, he hugged me again. He pressed his face to the crook of my neck and took another deep breath, this time unwavering and calmer.

“I love you, you know. I love you.”

I ran my hands up and down his bare back and now it was me that kissed his head.

“I love you, too, Kō.”

Kōshi smiled against my skin. He kissed my shoulder and stepped back with a sigh.

“Long day, all right.”

I somehow managed to keep it together while we put on our clothes, I pushed a half of a sandwich and some tea down my throat. I didn't cry while we sat on one of the sofas downstairs, snuggled to one another and surrounded by the café cats that almost sensed the mood and stood guard. That was what Lev would have said, at least.

When the police arrived and the sound of the doorbell broke the silence, tears poured from my eyes like they had been waiting for that one signal. I clenched my fingers on Kōshi's sweater and it took a lot, _a whole lot_ to force myself to let go.

Kōshi's eyes grew wide open when he looked at the police detective who was way younger than I had expected. Kōshi seemed to recognise him. The detective was speaking, but it was like my head was surrounded in a soundproof barrier, no words were getting to me. I covered my face in my hands and watched horrified through cracks between my fingers how he put handcuffs on Kōshi, how Kōshi glanced at me and almost smiled to soothe me.

They left.

I sat there in quiet, with only the cats at my feet. The spot where Kōshi had just been sitting next to me grew cold. I stared at the glass door like I waited for them to come back and apologise for making a mistake, Kōshi uncuffed and walking to me, to hug me.

Ponpon jumped onto my lap and chirped, rubbing against me and demanding attention.

The front door opened and Lev stepped in with expression broken in worry.

I started crying again.

* * *

Bokuto arrived fifteen minutes later, carrying a shoebox. The shoebox was lined with a blanket, topped with another. Bokuto himself was buzzing with excitement and initially he didn't notice the atmosphere when he stepped into the café and placed the box on the table next to the sofa where I was still sitting.

“I did it!” Bokuto beamed. “When I got to the flat, Keiji said to make a carrier out of this box, that's genius, right? Right? Watch this!” He theatrically lifted the blanket.

Three small calico kittens started mewling in thin voices and peered around with huge, blue eyes.

I was a sniffling mess with bloodshot eyes surrounded by reddened, swollen skin, but I let out a short, humid laugh and pulled the box closer.

“They are so tiny…” I cooed. It came out raspy. I cleared my throat.

“Right? I told you! Tiny! So tiny! And so alo—” Bokuto paused and for the first time since he had stepped in, he looked at me with actual attention. “Kitty-Cat? Why were you crying?”

Lev walked out of the kitchen with a tray in his hands. Bokuto turned to him and raised his eyebrows. He tilted his head to the side and pointed his finger at Lev.

“Lev! You look like you were crying, too! Why?”

Lev sniffed and put the tray on the counter to wipe under his nose.

“Yo. Tea or hot chocolate?”

“Uh…” Bokuto was visibly thrown off by Lev's calm tone. “Tea?”

“Green, black, red, or chai?”

“I have no idea what colour is chai, but I'm gonna try it… I guess?” Bokuto was glancing between me and Lev, growing more and more confused by the second.

“It's not a colour. It's—” Lev sighed and waved his hand. “That's for later. We'll drink the tea and then we're going to the ve— _oooooh my god, they are TINY!_ ”

Lev abandoned the tray and hurried over to the shoebox. His eyes were sparkling when he watched the kittens wobble around the blanket and he couldn't help putting his hand inside, just to have the fluffballs surround it to investigate. And like any other cat in the world, they immediately loved him. The lovestruck look on his face warmed my heart a little and I was able to put on a faint smile.

“I'll make the tea for Bokuto,” I said. I got up and was about to head to the kitchen when Bokuto himself stopped me.

“Oi. What happened? Or you can't tell me?”

An icy sting jabbed right into that budding warmth in my chest.

“I'll… go make the tea,” I repeated. “Lev, could you… explain… I will end up crying again.”

I went off to the kitchen before either of them came up with a reply. I closed the door and leaned back on the cold surface, closing my eyes. I pressed my palms to my face and slowly slid them down just to cover my mouth and chin with my fingers.

“It's going to be all right,” I muttered. “All right.”

Bokuto was sitting on the sofa, covering his mouth with his hand and sniffling. Once I left the kitchen with the freshly prepared chai, he stood up and marched over to me, and I barely had the mind to put the cup on the counter before I was crushed to his chest in a hug that almost made my ribs creak.

“This is so awful, man…” Bokuto sobbed and squeezed me even tighter. “It's so damn awful!” 

“Bokuto… my lungs…” I wheezed.

Bokuto loosened his hold bashfully and I patted his back. He had snot almost down to his upper lip and his chin was still shaking when I reminded him of the tea and we went back to the table.

There was something about Bokuto that seemed to be clearing the air without his conscious effort, like his intense depressive reactions made everyone else's sadness stick to it and dissipate when Bokuto himself was feeling better. Or maybe it was that part in him that made his friends subconsciously want to soothe him, like an upset child, diverting their focus from their own pain. Or maybe both. Either way, I calmed down better than before when I rubbed his shoulder, passed him tissues, and kept assuring him that things would be set straight soon and everything would go back to as it should be. Bokuto in the meantime was stroking my head with his huge hand, utterly messing up my hair, but it didn't bother me.

“I put up the sign that we're closed today,” Lev muttered. “So we're good to go now.”

“The whole day?” Bokuto asked. “Aw man, so this year there is no kimono January the first?”

“We'll just move it.” Lev shrugged. “Next week the article about top ten Tokyo animal cafés comes out, and who knows, maybe we'll be mentioned in runner-ups or somethi—” Lev's jaw dropped and he clutched his head in his hands. “Holy poop, I completely forgot! Day after tomorrow we'll have a photographer here!”

Both Bokuto and I tilted our heads to the side.

“You hired a photographer…?” I asked. I rubbed my eyes, all sore and stinging, and I picked up my cup to drink the rest of my tea.

“Mori and I counted up the savings the other day and we thought it would be good to set up a website,” Lev muttered. “We checked out like a hundred of photographers and scheduled a session, but it was so long ago and so much happened that I completely forgot… holy crap, this is the worst timing ever.”

He flopped down onto an armchair next to the sofa.

“I told Yamaguchi yesterday evening to take some time off and go on vacation once those dogs let him go, and I already talked to Tsukishima about it. I can't just call it off now! And…” He glanced at me, brows furrowed in worry. “So there's just me and you, Sugar.”

“Can't you reschedule?”

Lev tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. He tapped his fingers against the armrest.

“I would have if I didn't have other things planned. I booked an acquaintance to design the website, and found a person to do the coding and that that other weird stuff. Mori will take care of whatever the rest is needed, I didn't really understand what he was talking about. Some server thing? But the thing is, it took so long to wait for when this photographer has time, and I don't know when would be the next?” He pouted. “And I really, really, really want that one photographer. His portfolio was perfect for what I'd like.”

I put my empty cup away.

“We'll think of something. Cardboard cut-outs if anything else fails. Let's get going now, time to take those fluffy darlings for a check-up.”

“And I'm going back to Keiji.” Bokuto nodded. He wasn't sulking any more.

“Kenma will be here in five,” Lev said. “Lucky he has the morning off.”

I stood up and glanced into the shoebox. The three calicoes were bundled up in one soft heap, sleeping. There was no way not to smile at the sight. I sighed and headed to the back room to get my coat and hat.

* * *

Tanaka wasn't remotely as hungover as I expected. He had bloodshot eyes and was scowling at louder sounds, but that was about it; his eyes lit up when he peeked under the blanket.

“Look at ya, what three adorable baby girls!”

He gently picked up the first one and leaned down to inspect up close.

“Ears are clear… nose is fine… eyes react as they should for her age… oh. A flea. We'll have to take care of tha', eh, princess? Yer sisters totes have them extras, too, no? Yer fur is pretty clean, though, yer mum does her job.”

“Ah…” Lev scratched his head. “The mum… she's passed away.”

He quickly explained where the kittens came from. Tanaka clicked his tongue and nodded sadly.

“Look at ya, lucky cookies,” he crooned. “Ya got into the best hands ya could. We'll get ya something to make sure ya don't have any extras up yer butt and yer good to go.” He turned around, opened one of the cupboards, and picked out a small spray bottle. “Hm, hm, hmm, this would be for yer age—” he glanced at us— “which is 'bout two months, give or take. Now, let's get them fleas tae frick off…”

He sprayed the kitten and gave her to me.

“Yo, Lev, go get yerself a new basket for 'em, ye gotta wash 'em blankets from fleas. Shop's right next door.”

“Yeah, I was just thinking about that.”

The second kitten was all good and healthy as well. Tanaka finished examining her the same time that Lev stepped in with a green basket, lined already with a newly bought plush blanket. He was carrying a huge plastic bag in his other hand. 

The first cat managed to fall asleep in my arms in the meantime and at the moment I would have rather stick my head into a toilet than to put her away in the carrier, though.

Tanaka checked the third fluffball's eyes, nose, and ears. She was smaller and quieter than the other two, probably a runt of the littler, but she seemed to be otherwise healthy. Then Tanaka turned her around, tummy towards him, and he stared.

And stared.

His jaw dropped.

“No way. No fuckin' way. Lev… canny… show me the other one.”

Tanaka exchanged the kitten with the one Lev had been holding and he looked at it the same way. Then he went back to the previous cat, looked again, and slowly raised his head to peer at us.

“This calico is a male.”

“This calico is a _what?_ ” Lev's face turned into the same shocked expression that Tanaka had. I frowned.

“Aren't all calicoes female?”

“One out of 3000 or 4000… of calicoes is a male.” Tanaka watched the wiggling kitten in his hands like he discovered the deepest secret of the universe. “This dude here is a fricken miracle. There needs to be a hella rare gene mutation to get a male calico. I've never seen one with my own eyes before.”

“This is amazing…” Lev's cheeks covered in an excited blush. “This is fantastic! Can I…”

“Wait, wait, ya! I gotta spray him for fleas.” Tanaka picked up the bottle. “Ya know how much ya can get for a male calico, right?”

“… no…?” Both Lev and I replied at the same time.

“Elder doc here said she once talked to a dude that had one. Bought 'im for 300 thousand yen.”

“Three… hundred… thousand…” I uttered. “Three… hundred… thousand… Holy fuck…”

“I'm not selling.” Lev put the second-in-line kitten to the basket and crossed his arms on his chest. “He's not a vintage chair from under a shogun's hairy butt. He's rare and precious all right, all the more reason not to advertise him around just so someone could boast about buying something from their rich-people list.”

“Lev is a saint, isn't he.” Tanaka commented. He fished out a small carton and handed it to Lev, then scribbled down something on a sticky note and pasted it to the box. “Tha's for gut extras, I wrote the specifics on the paper. Ya pay up at the reception.”

“Awesome, thanks.” Lev placed the male kitten next to his sister and I reluctantly put the one that had been sleeping on my arm, too. She woke up, yawned, and wobbled to her siblings. “I already got them food and stuff, too, so we're all set.” He pursed his lips. “I'll keep them at home for a month or two before I introduce them to the café, though.”

“I woulda offered my flat, but kittens don't go well with rats.” Tanaka grinned. “By the way, where's Suga? Thought he woulda come here and Lev stayed watching the café. Not tha' I mind seeing ya!” he added immediately.

He saw my expression and his smile faltered.

“Ya had a fight or somethin'?”

Lev sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I hung my head low and swallowed thickly.

* * *

It was past noon when we returned to the café, red from cold and huffing from stupidly harder walking in snow. Kenma briefly looked up from his DS when he heard the doorbell and muttered a “welcome back”, the only two actions he could really perform while having most of the cats — my Tsukki included — sleeping piled up on him.

Lev didn't waste a second before announcing the discovered miracle, which seemed to interest Kenma enough for him to pause the game and attempt to dig himself up from under the café fluffballs. 

I cooked three large size mugs of hot chocolate and then we sat down to brainstorm about the upcoming photographing session. Kenma suggested that we should go back to wearing cat ears that used to be a part of the café uniform until a year ago, when Yamaguchi's were chewed to shreds by Sneezer and somehow no one came around to get a replacement. 

Lev wondered whether we should ask Murasakibara to stand in as a temporary employee, but I pointed out that getting an apron for his size would be difficult to manage within a day. That, however, sparked an idea that we did have aprons in our sizes — three per person, actually. As such, the concept lived on and we were about to think up of potential candidates when my phone started ringing.

My heart hammered and my mouth dried up.

“You should probably answer it,” Kenma mumbled, watching me intently.

I realised I hadn't moved a finger and I scrambled to pull the phone out of my pocket and answer it without even checking the number.

“Kitty-Cat?”

“Inuoka?” I asked. It came out raspy and barely audible, so I cleared my throat and repeated, “Inuoka? Do you have any news? What's going on? Can I visit now?”

It wasn't Inuoka's voice that I heard from the other side this time, though.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“… Kōshi?” Now it was a faint squeak.

Lev's and Kenma's eyes widened.

“Yeah.”

He was tired, that much I could hear. Tired and uneasy, but despite that there was a relieved tint in this tone.

“I can't talk long, Inuoka only came in during a break, but I needed to tell you that I'm fine. I'm fine. I know you're going to worry anyway, but I'm fine and things are going to be okay, all right? I'm fine.”

I gulped and nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see it.

“Okay,” I replied.

“I mean it,” Kōshi added. “How… umm… oh, how are the kittens? What do they look like?”

I half-giggled, half-sobbed.

“They are three calicoes, all healthy, tiny, and cute. And you're not gonna believe it, but one of them is a boy!”

“Is that something unusual?” There was a genuine confusion in his voice and I knew that he wasn't asking solely to keep the thoughts away from the situation.

“Male calicoes are extremely rare,” I explained. “Lev said that just one in a couple thousand is a boy, and they are crazy expensive! Even Tanaka has never seen one in his life.”

“Do you have names for them alrea— ah, Inuoka says we have to wrap up.” Kōshi sighed. “I… I'll talk to you as soon as I can, okay? Everything is going to be all right.”

“All right…”

He noticed that my voice went all raspy and humid again.

“I mean it, really. I love you.”

“I love you—”

There was scratching and shuffling on the other side, but before I ended the call, Inuoka started talking. 

“Hang on for a moment, I'll go somewhere else.”

Some door closed and the background filled with muffled by distance conversations. Another door opened, slammed close, and there was only static.

“All righty. I hope I won't get shit for that. A half of people here owe me, but still. And no, don't worry about it, I manage well.” He grunted. “Anyway. It's not good.”

My breath hitched and suddenly my hands and feet felt frozen cold.

“They found blood of the same type that Sugawara has on Masasumi—”

“Yes, you've said that—”

“Right, but the initial lab report from an hour ago says the samples the squints picked from Sugawara yesterday were not his own. Not all of them, that is. DNA will come in most likely tomorrow, but the blood type is O negative. The same we found on the glass from the broken door in your café, and it also matches Masasumi's group. It's another shitty rare one. Not as rare as Sugawara's, but rare either way. If the DNA will be a match, too, Kitty-Cat, things are going to get really bad.”

“Most likely tomorrow,” I repeated.

“Yeah.” 

A lighter clicked on Inuoka's side and he huffed, most likely blowing out cigarette smoke.

“That's not all. It overlapped with my investigation, that's why I got all this info… we found the stalker.”

“Masasumi is… was the stalker?”

“Either that, or he had a peculiar hobby of hoarding stuff related to you in his room. Some of it was downright disturbing.” Inuoka clicked his tongue in disgust. “It was well hidden, so until Moniwa got the go to dig into murder victim's belongings… we kind of have a joined case on this now. They treat murder way more urgently, though, so like I've said… I don't have a lot of input. Nor can I do much besides helping out when requested.”

“I… I see. I see. Thanks for telling me.”

“So out of all things, at least you don't have to worry about that stalker one now, I guess,” Inuoka remarked bitterly. “And that's all I have for now. I'll try to keep you updated. But remember, like I mentioned—”

“I won't tell anyone,” I cut in. “I know. Thank you. Thank you so much. Really.”

“I'll try to get Sugawara available for visitors, but I don't know if— well, I'll call you either way. Gotta go now.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Inuoka.”

“Don't mention it.”

I put my phone down. Lev started asking questions right away and both he and Kenma listened intently as I relayed all I heard, but my mind was occupied with something else. 

I thought how while Masasumi was talking everyone's ears off at the café and often was a pestering pain in the ass, he never really seemed dangerous. How he nearly cried when he stepped on Ponpon's tail, or how overwhelmed he was whenever a cat chose to approach him. How he couldn't believe when Yamaguchi told him that Sui never purred for anyone and that Masasumi was the first.

Sui. Sui that purred in Kōshi's lap.

_So Masasumi killed Sui out of jealously, after all? Over such a thing? Or just because the cat happened to sneak out from the upstairs room and ended up in a worst place at the worst time?_

Masasumi that was about Tsukishima's height, that wore a red jacket, that I often saw from my kitchen window as he stood on the bus stop across the street, that Mrs. Yamada wanted to talk to me about so many times.

_Mrs. Yamada. Did he murder her to keep her quiet? Or was her slipping in the sesame oil she never used really an accident?_

_But that was how he must have been so good at hiding what he was really doing, after all. Putting up appearances and making himself look harmless, bashful even. That worked perfectly for him._

I exhaled and sank into the sofa's backrest. Ponpon settled in my lap and I stroked her idly until Tsukki got jealous and crawled onto my lap between her and my stomach.

_And if so, then Inuoka was right. That one thing less to worry about._

“I have to go home,” I spoke up. “Get some fresh clothes. I also have some leftover dinner that I should eat soon… to be honest, I'd like to dig myself under the futon and watch anime until I fall sleep. You're staying over, Lev?”

“Yep. Talked it over with Mori.”

“I'm gonna sleep in my own flat, then.”

“You're really sure you don't want some company?” Lev frowned and leaned towards me from his armchair.

“I need to put my brain on idle, Lev. Do nothing and watch something unchallenging.” I smiled at him weakly. “And have some alone time to sort myself out. Too much has happened at once and I'm not sure what reaction I should have any more.”

Lev nodded sullenly.

“Call me if you need anything,” he said. “Can I check up on you? Like around eight or something.”

“If that will make you less worried, okay.”

All three calicoes were napping on the blanket he spread in his lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *As far as I could research, there is no official info on what Suga's bloodtype is. Going by Japanese bloodtype & personality theory, I guess AB would fit him? I chose it for the plot purpose first and foremost, though.  
> *I decided to give a make-over to the story's summary. It's been a long time since I wrote it and I felt like it needed refreshing.  
> *I'm not much into shipping whatsoever, but I do lowkey ship Suga with Oikawa. I wonder if it's a rarepair, I never even looked it up. I didn't mention the captain by a name, so you can pick whatever, I don't mind, you do you.  
> *I mentioned in the notes before the chapter that I was listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's soothing jazz while writing this. Prepare yourself, because for the chapter 12 I'm listening to _Janghwa, Hongryeon_ OST. (Beautiful and sad movie btw, please watch it.)
> 
> Yes, so… I bow full 90 degrees and rise this chapter as an offering to make up for that ridiculous break. I got caught up in the "I want to post soon but I want to post a long chapter but I can't write it all so fast" loop again. BUT the good thing is that I have ~1.5K word leftovers that I cut from the end of this chapter (it got that ridiculously long, yep) to include them in the next one instead, so you know… I've got a start. To all of the amazing people who stick with me - I honest to the universe love you and I send you hugs (and high-fives or finger guns if you're not a hugger). 
> 
> ALSO THERE IS FAN ART. THERE IS FAN ART TO THIS STORY. [LOOK. LOOK AT IT. LOOK!!!](http://aeteru.tumblr.com/post/170883416320/the-best-thing-ever-happened-t-t-a-friend)  
> (I also included pictures in the chapters here! If you take a look at the previous chapters, you'll find them.)
> 
> Now then, the three kittens need names! You can drop in your suggestions, I'll pick the ones I like the most!


	12. Downhill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which new suspicions are revealed, Daishō is the impolite voice of reason, and Tsukishima steps up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Two chapters in one month? What witchcraft is this? Well, I did decide to force myself to write minimum 400 words daily, no matter how shitty it would come out, but this is beyond my expectations. Also, this time I was listening to the first Bioshock game's soundtrack and soundtrack from Korean movie A Tale of Two Sisters, so, you know. The mood.
> 
> One small note: previously I wrote that the results of the DNA tests would come in in 3 days. I changed that to "tomorrow".

So Masasumi was the stalker.

Masasumi was stalking _me_.

I used to see him at the bus stop in front of my flat so many times. 

He used to visit the café every other day, always staying longer than most guests.

Did he used to follow me whenever I had gone? From home to work and back? Hanging out with friends? Buying groceries?

Was he trailing behind me when I was skipping from my flat to the corner shop for emergency pads after dark?

That evening when I went to Kuroo and Kenma's engagement party, he followed me right to their door and then came back, broke into my flat, poisoned Tsukki and… got himself a souvenir?

Did he watch me and Kōshi as we left after the party? Was he on the same bus?

Did he follow me until I met Kōshi at the cinema back then and pretended that he was planning to watch something, too?

Did he really break into the café?

What exactly did they find in his room?

What was the disturbing thing among them that Inuoka mentioned?

And…

… who killed Masasumi?

Was the blood they found on him really Kōshi's?

What about the samples they got from Kōshi's clothes?

And why did it happen at the café?

Was it related to the fact that he was stalking me? Was it to get him away from me?

But… that would mean that he was murdered by someone who knows me.

Or by someone who knows him… 

Was Masasumi stalking someone else before?

… or was his stalking used to cover up the real motive?

* * *

Tsukki purred around my calves while I was pouring hot water into my mug.

_Oh. I forgot to throw tea leaves in._

_I didn't even take the jar out of the cupboard._

I sighed and poured the water back into the kettle. I walked over to the cupboard and opened it to get the tea— 

The decorative crystal jar slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor. It broke into countless tiny shards and sprayed all over the tiles along with the dried tea. I didn't flinch, like it was something to be expected. Tsukki sniffed the leaves, his tail twitched, and then he left the kitchen.

“Fuck.” 

I rubbed my face and leaned back against the counter.

“Fuck.”

My favourite jar from grandma. One of the gifts she and grandpa received at their wedding over 50 years ago.

I stared apathetically at the mess like I waited for it to unhappen. The shards would cluster together into the old jar and the 2000 yen worth of my favourite tea would collect itself and fly into it. The ornamental copper lid would jump up and pop onto it as it was.

“For fuck's sake, why…”

Tsukki meowed from some other room and I blinked back into reality. I squatted and picked up the copper lid. Properly taken care of over the decades, it was in a good state, but one could tell it was old. A glass ring from the top of the jar was still stuck inside it.

_I'll have to take it out… argh, I'll just leave it as it is. At least that bit._

Everything else was beyond saving.

* * *

I was halfway into the fourth episode of _Ao no Exorcist_ when my phone rang.

_Kōshi…?_

_Inuoka?_

No.

The landlady from my previous flat spent five minutes chewing me out about some cat scratches on the bedroom wardrobe and disgusting stains in the entryway, obviously a result of me being a lazy, sloppy cat spinster whose dirty mother didn't know how to teach me tidiness. 

The habitual _Make Up For The Damage That I Made Up_ of every landlord and landlady reserved for people who moved out had begun. Normally I would have declined coming over and inspecting all of it to discuss it in person, but doing something so stupid and mundane seemed like a good idea at the moment.

The disgusting stains in the entryway were probably missed spots of Daishō's blood. Sitting in the bus at half past three, heading to my old place, I wondered what face the landlady would make if I told her what happened.

An accidental (maybe?) death of an old lady and horrifying stabbing in the same building over such short period of time?

_Nasty reputation, wouldn't it be?_

_I have to pull myself together. I'm not Tsukishima to be a bitch to others to feel better._

_Come to think of it, it's been so long since the last time I commuted alone anywhere. Always with company to keep me safe. Now that the stalker is off, I can go on my own again._

_Kōshi should have been standing next to me here right now. We would have been complaining about insolent landowners, joking about it. We would hold hands. Later we could buy mochi, we would return home and continue watching that anime together. Cuddling and kissing, warm, comfy, smiling._

_Maybe I wouldn't have broken grandma's jar._

_If Masasumi was alive, that is._

_Should I blame it on Masasumi? He was stalking me, he possibly wanted to kill Tsukki and killed Sui, hell knows how far he would go later… but it's like I'm blaming him for being a murder victim._

_Is that really all right?_

_He could have harmed people I care about next. Maybe he could get to the point to kidnap me and do something even more disgusting. Who knows what was prevented. Maybe he was able to murder a person himself._

_I don't even know any more…_

“Hello, sweetie!”

_Hello, sweetie?_

_What the fuck?_

I glared at whatever creep called out to me. Then I tilted my head to the side, utterly puzzled.

The woman seemed to be my age and looked like she was returning from shopping around Harajuku. Two high pigtails on her head — with purple strands mixed in between slick black — layers upon layers of purple, black, and white clothes that would be enough for a whole Visual Kei band, ten centimetre platform boots with a dozen of buckles on each, and a bag entirely covered in a variety of badges.

“Excuse me… umm… you are…?” 

“Oh, that's right! You haven't seen me in my author meeting outfit!”

It clicked.

“Miss Yamamoto?”

“Correct!” My current landlady beamed at me. “Everyone is always so surprised, but seeing those reactions never gets old.”

How a first-impression bookworm that dressed and had hair like a 60-years old grandma turned into the flashy, shocking phenomenon was beyond me, but I finally discovered why Tanaka once called her a cutie and why Miss Yamamoto didn't mind renting a flat to someone looking like him.

“I'm so late to the meeting though!” she groaned. “To think a plumbing check would come up right when I was about to leave… I'm so glad the plumber knows his way around the house and he didn't need to go inside the flats, I would've been stuck there until the evening otherwise!”

She narrowed her eyes and started muttering under her nose.

“A plumber would be like a scenario of a cliché hetero porno, that doesn't work out, but, hmm, hmmm, yes, hm, an art history connoisseur visits an old house and wants to check it out inside, and the house was inherited by a lovely young man from his long-lost uncle… oooh, I'll draw it in Europe, yes, Europe is such a fitting theme, yes… the young owner invites the guy in, and later, when he's about to leave, it starts raining, yeeees…”

Then she fawned over receiving an award for her newest manga loud enough for the entire bus to hear her, and at the next stop she hopped out, making every pair of eyes follow after her.

Once she was out of sight, those eyes stared at me for way longer than I felt comfortable with.

(Which was all of it.)

_Perhaps I could visit Suguru on my way back. Listening to him berating others' stupidity might cheer me up a little. He'll have a laugh about the stains in the entryway, too._

* * *

Daishō was reading _Jump_ when I walked into his room. He had a mildly disgruntled look on his face when he closed the magazine and put it away.

“I fucking swear, if _Bleach_ gets any worse, the ending will send fans out for Kubo's head,” he said instead of a usual greeting. “The only one that never fails the expectations is fucking _Gintama_.”

“Is that good or bad?” I sat on the chair next to his bed and passed him a box with strawberry mochi.

“It's _Gintama_.” Daishō shrugged. He took out one mochi and bit into it. “Going home from work? No, you would've brought your cake instead of bought mochi if you were at work. So?”

“Café is closed today. I spent the past hour fighting my ex landlady.”

“Then you've moved already. Good, that previous flat of yours fucking sucked.”

“Thanks. I used to like it until you messed up my entryway.”

Daishō snorted. He wiped his mouth and smirked at me with a bit of his tongue poking out.

“That was a one-time service.”

“It better.”

“So,” Daishō spoke up, chewing on the rest of his mochi, “how bad was your day?”

I didn't answer for a while, staring absent-mindedly at the cover of Daishō's _Shōnen Jump_.

“Yeah, well. How about having a loved one arrested for murder?”

“Oh. Yep. That's pretty bad.” Daishō raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. “Wait — are you for real?”

“Do I sound like I'm joking?”

“What the fuck?”

“I ask myself the same question since the morning.” I sighed and rubbed my face with both hands.

I described to him the whole situation, starting with how Yamaguchi had found the body. Daishō hadn't heard about it until now either. His blank expression didn't change while he was listening.

I managed to not start crying this time.

“Do you know how many people in Japan have the AB- blood type?” he asked. “Not even half of a percent. Not even a quarter of a percent. It's zero point zero five percent. Five people out of ten thousand. Seems shitty little, right? But that also means that there are over 63 thousand people in Japan alone with this blood type.”

“How do you even know something like that?” I frowned. “Not that you aren't a nerd, but still…”

“Because that's my blood type as well, idiot. For all you know, I could take a break from flattening my ass in this bed, have a little bus trip, and then off that dude myself. And then have one more little bus trip back here.” He scowled and picked another mochi. “Blood type alone means shit. Fuckload of other people with that type don't have an alibi either, no? Bet there are some living by the same street as the café.”

“But then…”

“But then maybe there is something you don't know about this shitstorm.”

I gulped. I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all.

“Like what?” 

“Why are you asking me? I'm genius, not psychic.” Daishō pursed his thin lips. “Those mochi taste weird. Is that supposed to be strawberry?”

“They are fine to me, your taste is seriously out of order.”

“Maybe.” 

He scratched his head and watched me quietly for a moment.

“You've met three months ago, obviously there are lots of things you don't know about each other. Like it or not, that's how it is. Happy-go-lucky people don't exist. Way too often the more of a fucking ray of sunshine a person is, the more messed up they tend to be on the inside.”

“I know about that already.” I rested my elbow on my knee and supported my chin on my hand. “Not to the smallest details, but we did talk about problems.”

“Any of that could be a clue?”

“I don't recall anything like that.”

“Then maybe it _is_ the details.”

“I don't…” I scowled. “I really don't like the way you've put this. Kōshi told me what happened… and how it affected him… How it still affects him. He trusts me enough to talk about it and it must have costed him a lot to speak up.”

_And that was after we almost got robbed and Kōshi had a panic attack… or something of the sort. He was so shocked and scared and yet he decided that he had to tell me right away. He wanted to be honest about it. And he is._

“If there were such important details, he would have mentioned them. Or at least he would mention that there are some, but he didn't feel well to talk about them yet—”

I trailed off. I moved my hand to press it to my mouth instead.

_He did say that._

_“There is so much I have to tell that I don't know where to start. And I don't want to throw everything at you at once. There's just a lot.”_

_He said that yesterday._

“You remembered something,” Daishō remarked. There was no question in his tone. “So? How is it now?”

“I— don't… I don't know…” I bit my lips. “It could be about anything! Nothing related to—”

“Probably. But it doesn't leave out the other options.”

I leaned forward and hid my face in both hands. I took a deep breath.

“I don't know what to do any more…”

“But at least you've got the bigger picture now. Don't put a full trust into people you met barely a moment ago just because you fuck them.”

“Suguru… that was unnecessary.”

“I'm telling as it is.”

“No, you projected your own frustrations on me with this one. Don't do that.”

“Are you fu—”

“Excuse me.”

Both Daishō and I shut up and stared at the man that walked into the room. He wore a coat and a hat that almost screamed _I dress like a TV show detective_ … and he flashed a badge at us. Another guy stood on the threshold behind him.

“Good afternoon. I'm Moniwa. Police detective. And this is my assistant, Nakamura.” He calmly trailed his eyes over Daishō and then me. “We came to visit Mr. Daishō Suguru, but I see there is also…” 

He frowned for a split second before he said my name. Like he couldn't remember it.

“Could you please go outside, Miss? I have a couple of questions to Mr. Daishō, but since we met here, I would very much appreciate if I could speak to you as well. There is a lovely tea house across the street, you may go ahead and wait for us there.”

I tried not to glare.

“Eat the rest of the mochi, Suguru,” I muttered. “I'll text you later.”

“Yeah.”

I put on my hat and left. The assistant gave me a small smile when I passed by him, and in the history of smiles I had seen, it was one of the most fake ones.

_Well, whatever. I don't have anything else to do and I would end up being interviewed anyway, sooner or later._

_Without the calico kittens, this entire day would be one of the worst I've had in a while._

I stepped outside, flooded by orange-yellow light of the street lamps and immediately drowned in freezing cold. I scrunched up my nose and trudged forward, careful not to slip on the pavement, still unsafe despite some sand spread on top.

Snow started falling from the sky.

_Ugh, it was a nightmare when Lev broke his leg like that back then. We barely buttoned up the café and a week later it was all on my head until Yamaguchi came in._

_Chasing a stray cat on untreated icy pavement. Of course he did._

_Lev._

_Those were fun times, though._

_Ha, we only had four cats at the café. Kusokawa was constantly opening the cat room door, and Sui was so tiny… we had no idea he was a Maine Coon. Daishō brought in Tsukki, he was such a calm kitten. Sneezer pissed in Lev's shoe on the first night._

_Those first café aprons that Lev's grandma had made for us… they were so pretty, hand-sewn, she embroidered cute cats and spelled out “cat café” on them._

_In Russian._

_Lev and I used to share the tiny flat above the café, too. Now it's for cat watch. How did we even fit in there together? Lev could barely stretch his arms out when he was laying on the floor. Thank god Yamaguchi had his own place._

_And the number of times we had to explain that we were not a couple… Yaku had such a laugh._

I walked into the teashop and my mind dropped out of the pleasant memories.

_Right. Fun times ahead._

I sat at a table by the window.

_Sure, what Suguru said made sense. Kōshi said that himself, too._

_But I'm not going to assume anything I until I hear him out. Misunderstandings are the worst. I mustn't do that. First I'll ask Kōshi, then I'll listen to what he's got to say, and only then I'll decide what to think._

“Only then…”

_And what should I think in the meantime?_

_I want to see Kōshi. I miss him._

_I really… miss him._

I wasn't sure how much money I had left on my account, so I ordered whatever was on the cheaper side of the menu.

_Suguru wasn't wrong to point out that we met three months ago… well, it's still not full three months… but on the other hand? Even putting aside the romantic part, how many people have that level of mutual understanding and care? And will to communicate? And respect?_

_That is what counts in the end._

_I hope._

Suddenly my brain was flooded with images from last night, particularly his midnight confession and the way he was looking at me, and the number of times he said _I love you_ later on.

And that he told me to leave my skirt and underwear on.

_Holy shit._

A waitress brought in my tea but instead of leaving after she put it on my table, she stared at me worriedly.

“Pardon my rudeness, Miss, but are you feeling well? The weather is so terrible and you look like you have a fever, is it safe for you to go out? People catch flu all around at this time of year.”

“I'm— I'm good, thank you. I'm good,” I stammered.

“Please be well, Miss.” The waitress bowed and left.

I didn't want to check how red my face was. It was enough that I felt like steam was gushing out of my ears. I struggled to find something unrelated to muse about. I took a sip of my tea.

_Tea._

_This tea is good. I would prefer some hot chocolate, though._

_Chocolate reminds me of Kōshi's eyes._

_… wrong move._

I sighed and took another sip.

I remembered the photographing session for the café. I rested my chin on my hand and fought my way into focus. 

_First and foremost, is it honestly necessary to show the entire staff? Wouldn't Lev be enough, since he's the owner? He's good looking and ridiculously photogenic. Never mind that he kind of resembles a cat to boot._

_The calico kittens. Nothing speaks to humans like a bunch of kittens. They need names, though— we could make a poll for the patrons to choose names._

I pulled out my phone and was about to text Lev about my idea when I got a message myself.

[06:06 pm] Daishō: Fucker left  
[06:07 pm] Daishō: I don't like him  
[06:07 pm] Daishō: Anyway  
[06:07 pm] Daishō: He asked me mostly about how I got stabbed  
[06:08 pm] Daishō: But  
[06:08 pm] Daishō: He knew Sugawara  
[06:08 pm] Daishō: He didn't say but I'm sure

My eyes widened. I recalled how Kōshi reacted to seeing that Moniwa detective in the morning.

_Wasn't there something more, though? What was it?_

[06:08 pm] me: What?  
[06:09 pm] me: How do you know?  
[06:09 pm] Daishō: He asked if I know Sugawara  
[06:10 pm] Daishō: I said we were room mates  
[06:10 pm] Daishō: He asked for specifics and then looked weird when I said it was in Korea 6y ago  
[06:11 pm] Daishō: And then he asked if it was at university  
[06:11 pm] Daishō: Same uni Sugawara was at back then

University in Korea…

_Didn't Kōshi mention there was some Moniwa in his transfer group?_

_But how would any of that matter in this situation?_

“Excuse me for making you wait so long.”

I flinched. Detective Moniwa and his assistant What-was-his-name was standing by my table, coats already unbuttoned and hats off.

My phone signalled me about a new message, but I stuffed it back into my bag.

“Pardon me, but I have matters I need to attend to, so I would greatly appreciate if this didn't take too long,” I said. “But I wouldn't like to create any misunderstandings either.”

_I don't want to walk home at a late hour alone._

“We are on the same page, then.” Detective smiled. It could be genuine. Or it could be what his assistant should work harder on. “If I may…”

He sat down opposite from me. Instead of browsing the menu, he told Possibly-Nagakura to order a cup of Earl Grey and lemon cake slice and whatever Yamamura-Maybe wanted.

“And to think I transferred from Akita just to have the same awful weather here,” Moniwa said dejectedly. He pulled off his scarf.

“I don't believe you came here to talk about weather, detective.”

“Certainly, I didn't. I'm only waiting for my assistant to join us.” He pursed his lips. “He's got a lot to learn yet.”

It would have been common courtesy to disagree and throw a word complementing Moniwa's teaching skills as well as praising Could-Be-Nakayama on top of it. I said nothing.

Once Nekomura-Perhaps returned with a tray carrying their orders, Moniwa put his phone on the table. It was set on sound recording.

“Is it actually allowed to record an interrogation like that?” I asked, staring at Moniwa with raised eyebrows. “Well, I guess on the other hand that if you happen to forget something I said, you'll end up coming again.”

“This is not an interrogation, it's an interview,” Might-Be-Sakamoto poked in. “Interrogation would be when—”

“It's not an interrogation, indeed,” Moniwa cut his assistant out. “And just as you've said, Miss, recording is merely a way to save time. The alternative would be writing everything down as you speak, and you've also just mentioned that you are in a hurry.”

_I don't like the way he speaks._

“Let's get this over with,” I muttered.

“Very well.” Moniwa started the recording. “The time is 6:22 PM, it's Tuesday, the first of January…”

After listing out the date, place, and names, and the number of the case, he told me to introduce myself. Then the questions started.

“At the time when Mr. Masasumi Sui was murdered, which is estimated at between 5:30 and 6:00 AM yesterday, where were you?”

“Masasumi… _what?_ ”

“That's the name of the victim. Where were you, then?”

_I had no idea what his given name was. He didn't think we named the cat after him, right?_

“… at… home. Sleeping.”

“Considering that your residence is located a considerable distance from the crime scene, you were not able to witness anything in that case.”

“Correct.”

“Did you know the victim? Is there anything you know, or heard, or seen that was related to him in a way that could suggest something out of ordinary?”

“Well… he was one of many patrons in the café. I didn't know his given name until you've just mentioned it, detective…”

“I'll word this differently. Were you aware that Mr. Masasumi was potentially stalking you?”

“I— I suspected— I suspected that there was a stalker— but I had no idea who—”

“No suspicions at all? Not necessarily towards Mr. Masasumi, anyone else?”

“Not really… no…” I gripped my cup, hoping to warm my hands, but the tea had gone cold.

“How about Mr. Sugawara Kōshi?”

“He— I— what— _I beg your pardon?_ ” I gritted my teeth. “Of course not!”

I could feel on my skin that people at the tables close to mine were staring. I swallowed thickly.

“Sugawara Kōshi is my boyfriend. He wouldn't hurt a fly. The fact that you took him is outrageous.”

Moniwa was not impressed. He sighed.

“I see. What do you know about the yesterday's morning incident in which Sugawara was injured?”

“He was _assaulted_. I wasn't there when it happened, so I know what others relayed to me.”

“I was told that…” Moniwa trailed off, frowning— “ah, yes. Despite obvious injuries, Mr. Sugawara denied help from two acquaintances that met him, and the next time he was seen at the café.”

“He was worried sick when he woke up, of course he ran to check if— if the others are all right. Do you comprehend how much blood he must have lost? How many stitches they had to put on him? Almost thirty!”

“Twenty-three on the outer side of his right forearm and hand, and five on his left, respectively.” Moniwa nodded. “How long do you know Mr. Sugawara?”

“Three months.”

“And you know him so well to be one-hundred-percent certain that he couldn't commit murder?”

“Yes.”

I didn't have to read minds to know what Moniwa had just thought about my answer. What I hated way more, though, was how close I was to cringe at it myself.

“He— Kōshi freezes up when something dangerous is going on!” I growled. “He panics and can't do anything, I've seen that more than once! You expect him to have committed murder while he can't defend himself?”

Moniwa tilted his head curiously.

“Why don't you suspect _me?_ ” I asked. “Going by your train of thought, I'm the most likely—”

“Someone your posture doesn't fit the profile.” Moniwa said simply. “The culprit is estimated to be around 1.75 metre tall and possess considerable strength. Pardon my rudeness, but regardless of your height, Miss, you don't strike me as someone who could deal that kind of injuries to a 1.92 metre man, who was athletic enough to be a regular at the local baseball team.”

“… I guess not.”

“Does this description remind you of anyone? Someone among Mr. Masasumi's acquaintances, perhaps? I'll say again: about 1.75 metre tall, considerably strong.”

“I don't know any of his friends. Sometimes he would meet with 2 or 3 people at the café, but other than listing their orders, I've only talked to Masasumi himself.”

“Do you know their names?”

“No. Only nicknames of two of them. One is Ishi, and the other… um… Paku?”

“And their height?”

“Well… they were all shorter than Masasumi…”

_Would I even be able to tell how tall is someone to such detail? Especially without any need to pay attention to it? Ridiculous. How do you even do that? See a person and be sure they are not 1.70 but 1.75? I can't measure anything approximately without a ruler._

“Did any of them stand out?”

“The one whose nickname I don't know, he was sort of… how do I put it… We had to tell him to leave once, he started a fight with another customer, he was shouting a lot.”

“How did he look like? Any characteristic features?”

“He was pretty average, a bit heavy build, short hair, dressed like a common office worker. Similar age to the rest of them.”

“Do you know where Mr. Masasumi used to live? Does anyone among your acquaintances know?”

“No. He mentioned once that he had wanted to attend Nekoma High because it was the closest high school to his house, that's all.”

“Did you often meet Mr. Masasumi outside of your work? Not necessarily deliberately.”

“No? Almost never. I did see him around from time to time, but until recently he didn't approach me.”

“Until recently? As in?”

“The first time was… uh… when I was taking a bus to my friends' house. Last October.”

“Three months ago, then.” Moniwa looked away to the side in thought. “So about the time Sugawara moved here from Miyagi, is that right?”

“Yes, that party was two days after I first saw Kōshi.”

“And—” Moniwa was still gazing to the side, apparently browsing his memory— “and the same day there was a break-in at your former residence. Your pet was poisoned and… yes, your private belongings stolen.”

“My underwear,” I specified dryly.

“Correct.” He stared back at me. “And you say that after the day of that party, Mr. Masasumi started approaching you outside of the café?”

“Just once or twice, I think… he stopped coming to the café whatsoever at some point and I hadn't seen him since, until, well…”

“What was Sugawara's reaction to that?”

“Eh? He politely made Masasumi go away, nothing more. Masasumi had a bad timing.”

_Stop walking all over Kōshi, focus on finding the actual murderer, for hell's sake…_

“How did Mr. Sugawara react when it became plausible that you had a stalker?”

“He was worried and protective. As were all my friends, too. There was always someone accompanying me when I wasn't at home.”

“I see.” Moniwa rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger. “One more question — what do you know about Mr. Sugawara's stay at Korea about five-six years ago?”

* * *

By the time I caught a train back it was close to half past seven and it stopped snowing. I stared out of the window at the passing views, replying in mind the entire… _interview._

_He always added a honorific to Masasumi's name and called me in the same manner, but he slipped a couple of times and didn't add anything to Kōshi's._

_Does he actually know him that well, or is Moniwa disrespecting him because he's a suspect?_

_Why was Moniwa so interested in whatever happened so long ago? What could possibly link any of it to the case? He didn't tell me anything. I couldn't tell anything from his wording either._

_Maybe I should have watched Was-It-Hatsune-Miku instead._

The thought only occurred to me at that moment — so _late_ — and it made me want to bang my head against a wall.

My phone started ringing and I was tempted to ignore it.

_Let it be good news for once..._

“Lev? What's up?”

“I've said I'd check up on you about eight, remember?” Lev said.

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

“See? Good that I remembered.” Lev sighed. “Wait. That sound… are you on a train? Going somewhere?”

“Home,” I mumbled. “Previous landlady wanted me to come over, and then I visited Suguru, and then that Moniwa detective _interviewed_ me. I can't believe it all took so long, for fuck's sake… I'm so tired.”

“Moniwa was here, too. Yamaguchi says—”

“Yamaguchi's there?” I asked in surprise. “Didn't you say he took time off?”

“He was here,” Lev replied. “He's going with Tsukishima to Miyagi tomorrow. Tsukishima had some side tutoring to do today yet, so they postponed until morning. Yeah, so, anyway. Yams says he recognised that Moniwa, but he wasn't sure, so he called Hinata, you know, they used to—”

“—play volleyball on the same team in high school, I know.”

“—so Hinata called his friend that used to play in a team with Moniwa. And sure enough! That's the guy.”

“Huh. So he's our age and is already a detective investigating murders?” I raised my eyebrows and switched holding my phone to my other hand. “Not that I know anything about police ranks, but that is kind of impressive.”

“And he also said that Moniwa changed a lot. That Hinata's friend, Aone, he mentioned that at some point when he was at university, he totally turned around. His personality, I mean.”

“At some point at university,” I repeated quietly. “Kōshi told me yesterday that there was a Moniwa in the same transfer group as him. In Korea. At this point I'm sure it's the same guy, but… I have no clue whatsoever what so relevant all of this has in common.”

“I'm none the wiser,” Lev muttered. “But I seriously don't like it. There must be something nasty going on.” He cleared his throat. “To be frank, I also don't like the fact that Suga didn't tell you anything before. I'm not saying this to make you even more de—”

“I know, Lev.” I rubbed my face with my free hand. “I know you're worried.”

“Yeah. I am. And not just me. You sure you're good on your own there?”

“I'm gonna buy myself a bucket of ice-cream and then eat it all while watching what dumb shit the kid from _Ao no Exorcist_ does next.”

“Okay. Call me when you get there. Give extra pets to Tsukki.”

“Will do.”

I ended the call and finally opened the message Daishō had sent me when Moniwa entered the teashop.

[06:11 pm] Daishō: This whole thing fucking reeks of something fucked up  
[06:12 pm] Daishō: Anyway remember that when police arrests you, they are not on your side any more  
[06:12 pm] Daishō: Same goes for those that are close to the arrested one  
[06:12 pm] Daishō: Doesn't matter if they were friendly before or are still now  
[06:12 pm] Daishō: So be careful what you say and how

_You didn't have to tell me that._

_What about Inuoka, though? Does he count in such case? Theoretically, he's working on the stalking, so it's not about Kōshi…_

_Could I call him now? I can bet that police investigators do way more overtime than a common office employee, so he must be still at work._

_But can I?_

_I doubt he would be able to put me through to Kōshi, but at least maybe he knows something new? Anything? Maybe he made it possible to visit Kōshi already? Is that possible, anyway?_

My phone decided for me. 

The battery died.

I stared at it in silence throughout the entire time it took for the train to go from one station to the next, for once utterly empty-headed. The cart cleared out nearly to the last passenger, leaving only me, an old lady, a napping guy in a pizza delivery uniform, and an office worker that looked about to fall asleep as well.

I yawned and dropped the phone into my bag.

_I'll skip on the ice-cream. I just want to flop onto the bed and switch my brain to idle._

7:46 PM showed the station clock when I stepped onto the platform, scowling at the slap of cold air. My breath left my mouth in a white cloud. I pulled my hat lower over my ears, tucked my hands deeper into my pockets, and trudged forward.

_Or first I'll charge the phone and call Inuoka. I suspect I'm going to fall asleep five minutes into watching that anime… regardless of what happens in it._

I passed the convenience shop without slowing my pace.

_Will Kōshi be able to sleep at all?_

I wasn't paying attention to how I was walking. My foot slipped and I extended my arms in panic with a squeak— 

I regained balance and only my pulse was beating loudly in my ears.

Was it _only_ my pulse?

I glanced over my shoulder.

Three people were walking up the street; teenagers from what I could tell. They crossed the street and walked into the shop. The door closed behind them, the sound of the small bell above it quickly faded out in the cold air.

I exhaled a white cloud of a withheld breath and pressed my fingers to my temples in irritation.

_All I need to have a full set now is to get paranoid._

I swore under my nose and marched forward. Roads and pavements in districts farther from the city centre were not so well taken care of and it made walking uphill more exhausting — I was almost panting by the time I arrived at the top and my hands were too hot to keep them in my pockets. I decided to take a minute of a break.

_I didn't eat anything beyond that sandwich in the morning and mochi with Daishō, no wonder I'm extra beat._

I fixed my hat and turned around to look at the view from the hill. The city was glimmering with night lights, brighter than usual under so much snow.

_Kōshi would say something cheesy and cute about it._

I let my vision wander over the white roofs and lit-up windows, then to the base of the street far below my feet and up along the fences to where I stood—

_Why isn't that person walking?_

I frowned and tightened my lips in a thin line.

_Or is it something else? Not a person?_

Whatever it was, it was standing halfway down the hill, far enough from a street lamp to obscure anything beyond the general shape, and far enough from me make me unsure whether it was or wasn't an inanimate object. 

_Like what? I just passed that spot, was there anything like that standing there?_

I scratched my head and looked around. The street was empty and well lit in the direction I was going. I watched just in time to notice someone take out trash and then run back indoors. I turned to glance downhill again and my heart jumped to my throat.

It couldn't be an object. It _couldn't_ be. 

Whoever that was, they were standing closer. They had passed that street lamp and were now — _again_ — standing still, this time with the light behind their back, turning them into a black silhouette.

Clinging to the last strand of hope, I hurried from one lamp to the next.

_Maybe it's someone taking a walk and looking at the view. I was looking at the view a minute ago, right? Right? Please?_

I took a deep breath and peeked over my shoulder.

No one was there.

“Fuck…” I groaned. I closed my eyes and exhaled in relief. “Fuck.”

I opened my eyes. The street remained empty.

“I've got enough of this day… I hope Kōshi's lucky charm will kick in soon.”

I resumed my walk, a little faster than before. I gripped the straps of my bag and clenched my teeth. There might have been no one behind me any more — or perhaps no one was there to begin with — but after the initial wash of relief the persistent unrest surfaced again, whether caused by this situation, or the accumulated throughout the day nerves in general.

“I'm so fed up with all this,” I hissed to myself. “What a fucking first day of a year.”

I wanted to see Kōshi in a kimono.

The past four years Lev, Yamaguchi, and me were dressing up on the first of January. Nothing beyond that, really, but it did make the day special and some of our regulars were even looking forward to it.

I slipped and fell back on my butt with a yelp.

“Ugh… this is what I get for complaining?”

I sluggishly stood up and patted the snow off my clothes. I picked up my bag only to discover that it had opened and a half of its contents was now laying on the pavement, most of it deep in the white layer. I was too done to swear at this point. I squatted down and started groping around and picking out one thing after another.

_This better be my worst day of this year and the rest will make up for it—_

I heard it.

I heard footsteps in the snow.

Behind me.

Right behind me.

I didn't waste time to check over my shoulder. I grabbed my bag, scrambled up to my feet, and I booked it, abandoning the rest of my belongings in the snow. My heart was hammering against my ribs and my heartbeat sped up twofold when I realised, I _heard_ that I wasn't the only one running.

“Help…” I rasped, “help, help… oh, fuck…”

_Would anyone in those houses hear me? Would anyone react? Would anyone make it in time?_

My house was so close— just to the next corner, turn right, and just a little, just a little down the street, _just a little_ —

“Stop… fucking… running…!”

I heard the voice so close behind me that I almost tripped over my own feet in shock. It was a masculine voice and I did not recognise it. And he was fast. Barely metres behind me.

“HELP ME!” I cried out. 

I slipped. 

I landed heavily on my knees with a shriek. My hat fell off.

And the guy caught up.

“HELP! SOMEBODY, PLEASE!”

He grabbed my ankle and violently pulled me back with horrifying strength, made me splay flat on the ice face down, drawing all air out of my lungs.

“Got— you—” he panted out— “now— got you—”

“HELP—”

He crawled over me and slapped his hand over my mouth.

“Finally… got you.”

Tears were rolling down my cheeks. He straddled my back and pushed a crumpled ball of fabric into my mouth. I couldn't move.

I couldn't move. I couldn't move, I couldn't move, I couldn't move— 

All I could do was letting out terrified sobs that were completely muffled by the gag.

“Finally, _finally… my… mine…_ ” 

I wasn't able to keep up with taking in the freezing-biting air just through my nose and I got light-headed right away, my wide-open eyes were going in and out of focus.

“I've got you…” he purred. He was _delighted_. 

One of the windows in the nearest house opened.

“HEY!”

_Who… is…_

“HEY, GET OFF HER! GET OFF HER!”

I turned my head as much as I could and through blurry vision saw a figure in the ground floor window, obscured by light beaming inside the room.

“GET OFF HER!”

The guy hissed a swear and the burden on my back disappeared.

I curled up my knees to my chest and covered the back of my head with my hands, unable to think even about removing the gag from my mouth, not lucid enough to hear rapidly fading footsteps.

“Are you all right?!”

I whimpered and flinched when a pair of hands gripped my shoulders in an attempt to make me sit up.

“It's okay, it's okay, it's safe now, y—”

I peeked up at whoever it was kneeling in front of me.

“What are you— why are—”

Tsukishima was staring at me, horrified.

“Is she okay?!”

I glanced at a woman with a boy at her side, standing in entrance door open ajar. It was the woman that shouted the question before she ran up to us and squatted down. She cupped my cheek with one hand and took out the cloth from my mouth. She scanned my face nervously.

“Miss, are you okay? Miss?”

“Who the fuck was that? Who did this?” Tsukishima stammered, peering down the street as if he expected to see the runaway. I had never seen him so upset. “To you— who—”

My mind rebooted and more tears started pooling in my eyes.

“Hey…” Tsukishima's tone quieted into anxious concern. “It's—”

I uncoiled and threw myself at him, clutched at the back of his sweater and wailed into his shoulder. Tsukishima rubbed my back comfortingly. He explained to the woman that he knew me.

“I'll take you home,” he said. “And I'll call Sugawara. Why isn't he with you, anyway? I thought you'd be going home toge—”

I cut him out with an even louder wail and then he had to listen to my incoherent, slurred explanation.

“I see.” Tsukishima sighed and fixed his glasses. “I'll call Lev, then. That all right?”

I nodded, sniffling and wiping my nose with my sleeve. My coat was dirty either way.

I managed to calm down a little by the time Tsukishima returned in his jacket and hat, we picked up the things I left behind in the snow, and now I was sitting in his car. It was barely two minutes of driving to the purple house, but during those two minutes having the weight of my bag on my lap and holding onto it was grounding, soothing me further.

Or rather I was bottling up the whole turmoil inside me.

“Why were you here?” I asked in a thick, humid voice. 

“Tutoring. One middle school brat signed up for an exchange without speaking more than five words in the country's language.”

_Lev mentioned something about Tsukishima tutoring today, didn't he…? Something that he had to postpone going on vacation with Yamaguchi…_

“English?”

I coughed. My throat was scraped raw and sore.

“Korean.”

“I didn't know you spoke Korean,” I muttered. “Isn't that, like, your third language?”

“I know four,” Tsukishima corrected matter-of-factly. “Russian is my fourth, but I don't consider myself efficient enough in it yet.”

“Tsukishima… what the fuck.”

“It's not my fault most of the people you know has too little brain capacity to learn at least one other than their native at some significant level.”

“You must be talking about that spot reserved for capacity of being polite,” I pointed out. “Poor Tsukishima, you had such a huge void to fill, so you studied languages.”

Tsukishima snorted.

He parked his car outside of the purple house.

“First—”

“First I'll plug in my phone and call Inuoka as soon as it turns on,” I cut in before Tsukishima finished. We got out of the car and I fished out my keys.

Tsukki meowed and gracefully approached me when I opened the door to my flat. I switched the lights on and threw my hat onto the shelf next to the mirror.

“You've got mail on your floor,” Tsukishima informed dryly. “I get that you've just moved in, but—” 

“I haven't changed my address at the town office yet,” I said. “Any mail should have come to my old place.”

“Then what's this?” Tsukishima bent down and picked up a white envelope. “Huh. There's no address… the envelope isn't even closed. I advise not opening it until Inuoka hears about it.”

I sighed.

“I'll go charge my phone.”

“You know… Let me check if there's no one else besides us here first.”

I was tired. So, so tired.

* * *

Inuoka arrived an hour later. Tsukishima was after his third coffee, Lev (who had appeared minutes earlier) sipped on his hot chocolate, and I was holding a mug of tea that had gone cold, untouched. I was unable to swallow anything; even the smell was unpleasantly stirring up my stomach.

“So… you don't know who it was and you didn't see the face.” Inuoka sat down at the kitchen table while I prepared tea for him. “But you'd recognise his voice if you heard it again, right?”

“Probably,” I mumbled. “I wish I could forget it soon, though.”

“And he was pretty strong…” Inuoka tilted his head back and closed his eyes. “The report on Masasumi's injuries says the murderer had to possess significant strength.”

“He pulled me back by my ankle so hard I splayed flat on the ground. I won't be surprised if I have bruises there.”

Inuoka perked up.

“I'll take you to the lab for examination. Maybe the squints will pick up something.”

“And then there's this.” Tsukishima pointed at the envelope. It was laying in the middle of the table. He quickly explained how we found it.

“I see…” Inuoka frowned. He took it between his thumb and index finger and raised it so the kitchen lamp was directly behind it, making the light reveal shadows of what's inside. “Looks like there's just some paper in it, nothing else.”

He lowered the envelope and pulled out a single scrap of slightly yellowed paper. His frown deepened.

“A cut-out from a newspaper, isn't it? But in Korean…? Why…? No pictures either.”

“Give it to me.” Tsukishima grabbed it out of Inuoka's hands. He pushed his glasses up his nose and started reading it. He raised his eyebrow. “So, it's from six years ago, give or take.”

I held my breath, waiting for Tsukishima to relay what the text was about.

“This…” Tsukishima's eyes didn't leave the paper when he spoke up, but he clearly directed his words at me— “This is something you really should talk to Sugawara about.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the new comments and kudos and subscriptions, I'm so so so happy every time I get those! ♡


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